


Fairytale

by Kumikoko



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Abduction, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Female Armin, Profanity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-22 08:56:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2501960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumikoko/pseuds/Kumikoko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Freshly fifteen, Armin is now able to choose which of the three men she wants as her husband who will naturally be King.</p><p>Erwin is already technically King.<br/>Jean is a Prince, as is Reiner. </p><p>Each man holds a promising future for delicate Armin, so who will she choose?</p><p>-revamped-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sweet Fifteen

**Author's Note:**

> A tribute to Hajime Isayama's joke of Armin being a female.
> 
> Since I was a girl, I was fascinated with Disney movies. I enjoyed the romantic themes, and am hoping to incorporate a lot of Disney style romance within my fanfiction.
> 
> Beaware that Armin is a female, hence the male and female tags. 
> 
> This work also happens to be a collaboration with Alva Domer and my friend Holly, who, I am unsure what her name is here. They have both provided a lot of the violent fighting scenes and some of the character quotes.
> 
> Background information: 
> 
> Three of the native people have different ideals about how to run a country, and from that, the continent is broken up into three halves; 
> 
> Castle Maria, Rose and Sina. 
> 
> Early on in the history, an earthquake tore a large chunk of land from Maria’s portion, leaving a sliver of the once large area. Before Maria died, she had a second castle erected, on this small chunk of land still clinging to the main continent. This was to be a vacation home originally, but when Maria’s daughter married a man she did not fancy, she had them both excommunicated to the smaller castle. 
> 
> The division in monarchy was significant for it allowed more marriage options, that didn’t consist solely of marriages to brothers or uncles. The family could now marry cousins, or even second cousins, as time went by, which preserved the natural good looks that the Maria royal family had. 
> 
> In present time, resting on Maria’s separate hunk of land, surrounded by water, Prince Reiner resides, with his ever faithful knight, Bertholdt. On the little portion of Maria houses the smallest castle of all, where “King” Erwin currently sat in place of the princess, Armin. Armin's eventual marriage to whomever she chooses will make null of the petite castle, and the confusion it tended to cause.
> 
> With Armin’s to-be marriage, she is to move in with whomever Prince to be King, or King to return the world to it’s natural order, of only three King’s, one for each half of the land. The tiny castle will then remain a vacation house, as from what it started as. 
> 
> In Rose, particularly the town of Trost, Prince Jean sits, with no particular favor of the people, a key piece like Armin would save his reputation considerably. 
> 
> Castle Sina, the innermost portion of the land, houses Historia, a Princess with no present King to speak of, despite her having been crowned as a young girl. There is speculation that her female Knight Ymir is actually her concubine. 
> 
> Rumor’s aside, Historia’s army is said to rival Reiner’s own superb military forces.
> 
> Sina, in the middle of the land, on a higher elevation, is known to be considerably cold, the warmest temperatures averaging thirty degrees, but the discovery of hot springs made living in Sina tolerable to the residents. 
> 
> Rose and Maria, each on separate coastlines, are considerably tropical, in different aspects of the word. 
> 
> While Maria’s land was covered in lush green grass and forest, Rose’s land was arid, on the left side of it, closest to Sina, but where the land met the water, there was enough beaches to make the nation pleasant and relaxing. The mountains cut the wet coast off from the inland, making it dry.
> 
> The national currency is gold, mined from the volcano on Rose’s half. 
> 
> Fish and its various forms, are mined from the ocean on both Maria and Rose’s coastal area’s, to feed the majority of the entire population of all three lands. 
> 
> Farm animals are bred in large numbers on Maria’s half, a small portion are raised in both Sina and Rose. The animal’s contribute to the dairy consumption, and the market for meat within the richer families. Given the small area’s of land, there is not enough room for large amounts of cattle to be raised and slaughtered for meat for the general public, at least not in big amounts, and certainly not for cheap gold.
> 
> The richer families have an early method of indoor plumbing.

**Fairy Tale**

**Sweet Fifteen  
**

“Wake up, Armin,” A cool, crisp voice broke through the enchantment of slumber bewitching the princess. 

“Mm…” Armin moaned sleepily as she rolled on to her side and nuzzled her head against the pillow, wanting nothing more than to sleep the day away.

“It’s your fifteenth birthday,” The feminine voice said, and suddenly, Armin was shivering.

Parting her eye lids, the first blurry shapes were taken in, one clearly a tall figure, black and peach, a hint of red, in front of an expanse of light blue and browns. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see her oriental servant, holding the light blue blanket hostage.

“Morning already?” Armin asked softly, sliding her ivory arm out from under the gold colored pillow, to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

“Silence and beauty is your objective for the day, while quietly considering your options of princes, and or kings to choose from.” Mikasa informed Armin of what Erwin expected of her today.

“There’s…two, right? King Reiner and Prince Jean?” Armin inquired as she pushed herself up with her hands, letting her legs fold underneath her, but angled out. She stretched her arms above her head, feeling her muscles pop pleasantly and let out a moan.

“That is not appropriate, Princess, should a man be near you.” Mikasa scolded her, the same way she had a thousand times before. “Now, get up.” Mikasa commanded, becoming impatient with the girl, taking her sweet time in moving around, despite the fact that both of them were on a quite serious schedule. Armin’s pink lips pulled into an innocent smile.

“Alright, Mikasa. I promise I won’t make this hard on you, today.” Armin assured her in a honey-sweet voice that should have added to her over-all purity. But it only made Mikasa grimace with doubt. She knew that princess like the back of her hand and Important days were the days Armin made the hardest for Mikasa, always insisting that the outfit was wrong, or too tight, or the shoes weren’t the _exact_ shade the dress was.

Maybe it was the amount of pressure to be perfect that had been put on Armin since she was born, but for days deemed special, she was especially finicky,

“You don’t look too sure of my word,” Armin brought her bottom lip up in a pout, her eyes reflecting the hurt she was experiencing from her friend’s distrust of her word.

Sighing, Mikasa placed the blanket down, and set one hand on her hip.

“Then show me you’re serious,” Mikasa challenged her, without giving in to the cute ploy.

“Okay,” Armin quipped brightly, sliding her legs off the edge of the bed and rested her feet on the cool stone.

Standing up, Armin held her arms above her body, letting Mikasa pull the long, white nightgown off of her body, effectively exposing her hour-glass curves, that were enough to compensate for her small, rounded breasts.

Setting the nightgown on the bed, Mikasa then slid the silk bloomers down the length of Armin’s legs, and pulled them off one leg at a time, as the girl lifted one foot, then the other.

“Your bath is waiting,” Mikasa gestured to the adjacent bathroom. Armin glanced over at the open doorway, noticing how the steam rose above the marble, light blue tub. “Alright,” Armin replied and shamelessly stepped to the bathroom, passing the large window that framed a brunt of the back wall. Mikasa sighed, hoping none of the gardeners had been trying to stare into the room.

Following Armin, Mikasa shut the door behind them, and looked around the bathroom, making sure everything was in place for not only Armin’s use, but her own.

“You look nice today, Mikasa.” Armin smiled, noticing the light blue bra Mikasa wore, the upper straps wrapping around her neck, while the lower straps tied into a bow against her back. The matching long light blue loincloth skirt almost brushed against the floor, even with Mikasa wearing matching high heels.

“Don’t flatter me,” Mikasa muttered, turning her head away from Armin to hide the light blush forming on her cheeks.

Leaning forwards, Armin dutifully waited for Mikasa to kneel down next to the tub to wash the brunt of her. Feeling a warm luffa on her back, Armin closed her eyes enjoying the sensations of the loofah chasing every itch away.

“Oh, where’s my bubbles?” Armin asked, opening her eyes with realization that the bubbles were missing.

“You were serious last night?” Mikasa sputtered incredulously.

“Yes,” Armin replied, fiddling her hands together impatiently.

Wordlessly, Mikasa stood up and grabbed the wash cloth, drying her hands before kneeling down in front of a cabinet, pulling out a glass bottle with a pink liquid inside.

There was no blue.

Closing her eyes, Mikasa prepared herself for Armin’s tantrum.

Mikasa snapped her head towards the opening door, to see a pale arm reach inside, hand clutched around a glass bottle, full of blue liquid. Mikasa stood up and snatched the bottle away before slamming the door shut and locked it.

Silently, she thanked Eren.

“What was that?” Armin asked, looking over to Mikasa, oblivious of what just happened.

“My apologies, Princess. I forgot to shut the door.” Mikasa replied breezily, as she walked back to the tub and knelt down, twisting the lid off of the bottle and poured some of the liquid into the clear water.

Once more, Mikasa grabbed the loofah and scrubbed Armin’s back until any and all dirt, and dead skin was washed away. Armin leaned back and stretched her arms out, letting Mikasa use the loofah on her armpits, and arms. Mikasa slid down to the end of the tub, waiting for Armin to lift her legs up to rest her ankles on the edge of the tub so Mikasa could scrub the soles of her feet.

A princess had to have nice feet. The loofah was ditched after that, and Mikasa grabbed the other wash cloth, pouring soap on to it before washing Armin’s face. Armin closed her eyes to avoid letting soap in them. Mikasa ran the washcloth down Armin’s neck, over her collarbone, shoulders and arms, then set the wash cloth aside and poured soap on to her own hands.

Folding her legs half underneath her, and half out, Mikasa reached her hands around Armin’s body, cupping her breasts and gently massaged the soap on to them, rubbing her soapy thumbs in a circle around, and on Armin’s small, brown nipples and areola. Armin leaned her head back, sliding one leg back into the tub, her blonde hair dangling above the stone floor, and let out a small moan.

Closing her eyes, Mikasa struggled to remain patient with Armin.

“Princess, do you remember when I explained to you that when you make noises like that, people will get the wrong impression of you, and what I’m doing to you?” Mikasa’s lips were in a thin, unamused line.

That innocent smile graced Armin’s lips.

“You worry too much, Mikasa.” Armin mused, knowing that Mikasa had no choice but to use her hands, because washcloths, and loofah’s tended to be harsh on such delicate skin.

“I suppose,” Mikasa sighed, letting Armin win this one.

“Eren,” Mikasa snapped, looking to the door again, and just as she thought, there was movement under the door.

“He’s just curious,” Armin chimed innocently, watching Mikasa grab a fresh wash cloth and dangle it over the door knob, so Eren couldn’t peek in.

“That may be so, but only the Princess’s husband should see her naked, and I.” Mikasa reminded Armin sternly and handed her the wash cloth, so she could finish washing herself.

“I am willing to bet he wasn’t trying to look at me,” Armin stated with a knowing look to Mikasa.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mikasa muttered, another blush appearing on her face as she grabbed the bottle of shampoo and poured some of the liquid on to her hand. She then rubbed the substance into Armin’s hair. Armin rinsed it out, and let Mikasa rub conditioner into her hair.

While the conditioner sat, Armin picked a razor up, and made sure her body was smooth as silk, bare of unnecessary hair. When the bath was over, Armin stood up and let Mikasa dry her off with a towel. Mikasa wrapped the towel around Armin’s body and had her sit on the counter, where Mikasa gathered material’s to paint Armin’s nails light blue, both her hands, and toenails.

Looking over her beautiful nails, Armin smiled, feeling more like a girl. Being Armin couldn’t do anything for awhile, Mikasa brushed blonde strands out, and then examined Armin’s face. A princess couldn’t have bushy eyebrows, nor could she have a unibrow, nor anything of the sort. Each hair had to be correspondent to the other. There also couldn’t be any really long nose hairs, and they especially couldn’t be sticking out.

Anything hair that didn’t belong was plucked, much to Armin’s dismay.

Beauty was pain.

“I want to smell like sunshine today,” Armin stated, gesturing to the lotion on the counter. Mikasa grabbed the bottle with yellow cream, and opened it, pouring some on to her hands, before she rubbed it on to Armin’s arms, legs, feet, and upper body. A different cream was applied to Armin’s armpits to prevent unwanted body scents.

“What dress are you going to wear?” Mikasa asked, lifting Armin off of the counter and set her down.

Following Mikasa into the walk in closet, Armin began rifling through her many dresses eagerly.

A chilling chorus of happy, “No’s,” filled the room, and all Mikasa could do was set her hand on her forehead and sigh, hoping beyond belief that one of the dresses would appease the finicky princess.

“ _This_ one!” Armin exclaimed, pulling a dress off of the hanger, that would reach past her feet, and cover up to her shoulders. There was a thin brown belt around the waist, and a layer of lace, that Mikasa thought gaudy, but wordlessly, she helped Armin into the dress, before the girl could change her mind.

Stepping in front of the mirror, Armin set her hands on her hips, lifting one side up, then the other, inspecting how her waist and stomach was portrayed, from a front, and side view. Armin smiled with pure appreciation for the dress and began primping, while Mikasa let out a sigh of relief.

“These shoes don’t match.”

Feeling her blood run cold, Mikasa hesitantly looked to Armin, who now held light blue shoes, that, _almost_ matched the dress, but they were a shade off, and none of the other shoes in the closet were good enough, apparently.

“We have to find a match,” Armin announced. Mikasa grabbed a pair of white high heels and held them out to Armin.

“These will work.” Mikasa said, but flinched at Armin’s withering stare. “Alright, let me do your make-up really quick and we’ll take the carriage,” Mikasa suggested, remembering how sweetly Armin had promised that she wouldn’t put her through hell today, but apparently, Armin had forgotten her vow.

“Okay,” Armin agreed, grabbing a pair of matching light blue gloves to slide on her hands, before moving back into the bathroom and let Mikasa apply make up to her face. A light blue eyeliner was applied to Armin’s top eyelids, and her dark eyelashes were coated with black paint to make them stand out more. Red lipstick was applied to her shapely lips.

“Just wear these,” Mikasa held out the white high heels again. Armin sighed and slid the white heeled shoes on and followed her servant out, into the hall.

“Consult with your uncle, and I’ll fetch Eren,” Mikasa suggested, and went her own way.

Nodding, Armin wandered to Erwin’s office, and opened the door, peeking inside. Erwin was speaking with a few guards.

“Ah, Uncle?” Armin tentatively greeted, to gain Erwin’s attention. Erwin paused in his conversation and looked at Armin, who slinked inside of the room carefully, shutting the door behind her.

“Good morning, Armin. I hope you realize that was your mother’s favorite dress,” Erwin greeted casually, as his blue eyes skimmed every curve of Armin’s body.

It was quite a shame to Erwin’s mind that the young girl would surely find a future husband today, and it wouldn’t be him.

A blush brightened Armin’s ivory face up.

“R-really?” Armin asked, having been given the dress a long time ago. “Yes. Now, what is it you wanted?” Erwin asked, needing to return to speaking with the guards.

“Oh, I have to buy new shoes,” Armin announced.

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll be downstairs to come with you,” Erwin stated, knowing Armin wasn’t going to settle for no. Armin smiled with appreciation.

“Thank you,” Armin said and left the room, wandering into the kitchen where a chef offered Armin a cup. Armin took the cup gratefully and sipped at the liquid, shuddering at the bittersweet mango flavor.

“Is breakfast going to be big? I am eager to have something when I return,” Armin said, to which the chef nodded.

“Of course, Princess. Do take an apple with you for the ride,” He said, handing Armin an apple.

“Thank you,” Armin said and left, taking a bite out of the apple as she walked outside, finding the carriage and horses ready to go.

“Whoa, Armin, that dress is insane on you,” Eren exclaimed as he slid off of the brown horse, his eyes particularly focused on the lace of the dress that added a sense of purity to Armin’s overall being with the way it swayed gently in the light wind.

“You look great too,” Armin replied, noticing Eren wearing a long, light blue loincloth, much like Mikasa’s own. The rest of Eren’s body was devoid of clothing, except for his feet, that were in golden sandals, that matched the golden bracelets on his wrists. Eren’s toned body was appealing, much like Mikasa’s.

Opening the carriage door, Eren held his hand out to help Armin up into it. Armin took Eren’s hand, and with her other hand, lifted the dress up enough for her to not trip over it as she got into the carriage and sat down. A moment later, Erwin stepped outside.

“I suppose there was no talking her out of this?” Erwin inquired to Mikasa, who nodded to her head. Erwin climbed on to the blonde horse and Eren climbed into the carriage with Armin, hoisting the large hand fan up and waved it back and forth, to keep her cool. Mikasa sat on the black horse, helping to guide the carriage to their destination.

Listening to the clopping noise the horses caused as their hooves trotted along the cobblestone, Armin watched the scenery go by, how there were many people in light blue, or that had light blue merchandise and or decorations outside their homes and shops, the people wanting to represent Armin on her birthday. Armin waved and smiled, unable to do much more than that, for the windows were not able to be moved down nor opened.

“Stop here,” Erwin stated, pulling the reigns of the horse to stop in front of a shop that specialized in making pottery. Erwin slid off of the horse, dressed in the light blue, white and gold uniform expected of males in the family.

Turning her attention to the right window once more, Armin noticed a young woman leaning against the wall on the building across the street, with her arms folded across her chest.

“I love her hair,” Armin commented, catching Eren’s attention.

“Who? Her?” Eren asked, noticing the young woman with cherry red hair in shaggy pigtails.

“Yeah,” Armin confirmed, wondering what she was doing.

The woman reached a hand into her blue skirt pocket, and pulled out a pocket watch, clearly checking the time. She was wearing a long sleeved, white button up shirt that may have been fancy at one time, but it was dirty, with stains, much like the skirt was.

“Why is she dirty?” Armin asked, tilting her head with curiosity, letting her blonde strands fall around her face.

“I assume she might be similar to I, when my mother was murdered,” Eren said, continuing to fan Armin, who in the carriage, was starting to have sweat trickle down the side of her face.

“Homeless, you mean?” Armin inquired, for clarification. “Yes. It’s unfortunate but it happens,” Eren commented.

From within the carriage, Armin saw three guards walk up to the woman, and a short conversation seemed to ensue, the woman’s green eyes hardening with apprehension. There seemed to be no warning before the guards started to push the woman around. Armin’s lips parted slightly. “Why are they pushing her?” Armin asked with alarm, lashing her hand out to grab Eren’s wrist. Eren paused in his fanning her to follow her gaze.

A struggle seemed to break out between the woman and the guards, and in a very unlady like manner, she clearly bit at the guards arm that had groped her breast.

“Ah! He just grabbed her breast!” Armin exclaimed with surprise, now pointing accusingly at them with her index finger. The girl was thrown to the cobblestone ground where the guards then kicked at her. Armin climbed over Eren with haste, throwing the carriage door open.

“What are you doing?” Eren asked, trying to grab at her to keep her in the carriage, but she squirmed out of his grip and ran towards the building Erwin had gone into. Armin’s first thought was to rip the door open but she paused, taking a quick moment to primp herself before opening the door like a calm person would and strolled inside.

Erwin was holding a blue vase with an intricate image of the sun painted on, but looked over to the opening of the door and was surprised to see Armin, especially without Eren or MIkasa at her side. Armin strode right up to Eren.

“I need to borrow this.” Armin announced, wrapping her fingers around Erwin’s decorate Claymore sword at his hip, and unsheathed it. Pure surprise graced Erwin’s face as he stared at his delicate niece, hoisting the fine sword into the air, before scampering off with it.

“Armin!” Erwin exclaimed in alarm, reaching out to her but she was already shutting the door.

Stepping into the light, Armin daintily held the sword out to Eren, who had clambered out of the carriage to chase after her, but had only managed to shut the door and start her way. Eren froze at the sight of the sword, unsure what the princess was doing.

“Eren, as my Knight, take this sword and help that woman,” Armin commanded with blue flames of fire flickering through her eyes. Eren’s green eyes bulged open.

“What? Princess, you can’t be serious, I—“

“Do as I say, Eren,” Armin snapped becoming impatient, knowing those guards were still assaulting the woman.

She could still see through the carriage windows that the woman was struggling against the men, abusing their power.

“When did I even become a Knight?” Eren inquired, knowing that he would be at a disadvantage against three adults.

“Just now,” Armin replied sweetly, her arm starting to shake with the weight of the sword.

“I’m not qualified for this,” Eren said, incredulous that Armin was asking such a big thing from him.

“Mikasa.” Armin looked to Mikasa expectantly.

With no hesitation, jumped off the horse and grabbed the sword.

“Yes, Princess,” Mikasa said, kneeling before Armin to show respect before she turned to spring into action, but paused as the girl was shoved into a carriage, kicking and biting. The two guards clambered into the carriage while the third one manned the horses, making a get-a-way.

Turning back to their own carriage, Mikasa hurried over to Armin, lifting her up, and set her on the blonde horse, and then picked a confused Eren up and tossed him on to the brown horse. Mikasa then unhooked the horses from the carriage, and before Eren could ask what was going on, another familiar, deep, cool voice spoke.

“What is going on?” Erwin asked, as he walked out of the store, a box in his arms.

“No time,” Mikasa replied, and leapt on to the black horse, and nudging the horses sides, the horse whinnied before speeding off. Armin and Eren were quick to follow.

“H-hey!” Erwin noticed they seemed to be chasing a carriage, but he couldn’t understand why.

Wind whipped past the three as they left Erwin behind and chased after the carriage. Mikasa took the lead, pushing the black stallion to its limits while Armin and Eren followed behind her as best they could. A quick movement of her head forced some of her hair out of her face, giving her vision more clarity as she focused on the carriage.

Steadily they were gaining on the carriage that had already gotten a good distance ahead of them. Mikasa looked ahead at their target with a cool expression, one hand gripping onto her horse’s mane tightly while her other one held onto the sword that she had taken from Armin, ready to use it once they got close enough. To stop herself from falling off from the horse, her knees gripped at its sides and applied more pressure to each side to direct the horse in whatever direction she needed.

Just as the raven haired female was starting to close in, she blinked as two men appeared on the side just a little bit ahead of her, one of them wearing a short green cloak that was billowing out behind him. They were clearly chasing after the carriage and Mikasa quickly figured out that they had to be after the woman in the carriage as well.

They appeared to have a plan already thought out as the lighter haired male pushed forward to get to the two guards manning the carriage while the other very steadily began to stand on his horse’s back, waiting until he was right beside the carriage where he jumped onto the top of it, earning a few loud exclamations from the guards inside the carriage itself. Without delaying, he dropped himself down onto the side of the carriage, holding onto the ledge and with his legs he pushed himself back and using the momentum that he had when he came swinging back, his feet broke through the window of the carriage, slipping himself inside much to the guards surprise.

Jumbled cries of, "what the fuck?!" and, "get off me!" burst from the guards' throats, and a feminine one. Mikasa used the fact the distraction of these strangers to her advantage. While the MPs grappled with the thugs, she pulled up along the side of the carriage.

Within the carriage, the guards were struggling to restrain the girl, who kept biting them in her fight to get away. Upon seeing the dark haired male, the girl paused in her plight, only to squeal a moment later as her breast was grabbed again. Violently, she bit the hand while the dark haired male drew a roman shortsword.

Two swift slashes and the guards necks were slit.

"We have to stop 'em!" Eren shouted from outside of the carriage.

"Cut the horses!" Armin ordered, and with a curt nod, Mikasa dug her heels even deeper into the panting thoroughbred's sides.

A flash of steel and the blade slashes through the horses' leather harnesses.

"Hey!" An officer cried as he watched the startled horses vanish down the street. But without the animals, the cart continued barreling forward.

"Mikasa, fall back!" Armin ordered, and his servant swerved to the side.

There was a cacophony of screaming as the carriage roared over the cobblestone. Mere seconds before the horrifying collision, the carriage door was kicked open.

The caped figure had the woman wrapped tightly against his chest, and without a moment's hesitation, leapt out. He rolled onto the ground and both people popped up, seeming perfectly unharmed. The light-haired man landed gracefully beside them, narrowly avoiding the flying planks from the resulting crash. The girl had a bruise forming on her forehead.

"Mikasa!" Eren hollered, hand outstretched as he galloped toward her.

She tossed him the sword as he passed, the ghost of a smile emerging on her lips. "Leave her alone!" Eren snarled, having in his mind that the girl still needed to be rescued, but as he leaned from the horse's back fearlessly, his vicious swipe at the caped man was blocked. The light haired man whipped out a shortsword sword of his own, easily parrying the blow.

Mikasa glanced at Armin. "Princess?"

"Please," Armin replied with a wave of her hand.

"You take Shorty, I've got him!" Eren barked, unwilling to admit that he was no match for the caped figure and tossed the sword back to Mikasa, who caught it gracefully.

The instant Mikasa's fingers curled around the blade handle, sparks were flying.

_clang-clang-clang!_

The metal rang it each time they struck. But each strike was deflected. Mikasa jumped back, knocking the man's charge to the right. Her eyes widened as he dodged a blow to his abdomen. Mikasa had never seen _anyone_ with such agility. Their eyes continued to meet with the clashing swords.

"Crap! Levi!" The other man suddenly shouted. Eren snatched the man's wrist, and in one fluid movement, swept his knees out from under him. Eren shifted his grip on his arm, flung the man over his shoulder, and slammed him into the ground.

Armin tried to ignore the wild look in Eren's gleaming green eyes.

They craved blood.

"Don't ever try to hurt another girl again!" Eren roared with misplaced justice, and the man barely rolled out of the way of Eren's fist.

As steel slashed and fists clashed, Armin raced to the girl's side. She was on the ground, pressed up against the wall, trying to catch her breath and held one hand to her throbbing head.

"Are you okay?" Armin asked softly, taking her hand. The dark haired man noticed Armin reaching towards the red-haired girl and halted the downwards motion of his blade. The dark eyes turned cold as he perceived the pretty girl as a threat and launched himself to her.

"Princess, look out!" Eren's panicked warning came too late.

Armin let out a terrified scream as she was yanked up by the back of her dress. Her throat constricted at the cold teeth of a blade biting into the tender flesh breath her chin.

"No one move, and she won't get hurt," the man growled, glowering at each servant.

"You'll regret that," Eren spat. "She's the goddamn Princess!"

All three strangers' jaws dropped. "P...princess?" The rescued girl sputtered with shocked awe.

"Eren!" Mikasa snapped as she scolded him. Eren glanced to her with confusion, unsure of what he did wrong.

Never had Armin been treated so roughly before, and she certainly hadn’t been around such a man before. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as she tried to push down the feelings of exhilaration, and fear.

A prince would save her from this hoodlum, surely?

"Shorty!" A voice roared.

All eyes snapped up to the nearest rooftop. At least seven men, their heads wrapped in cloth, stood scowling down at their previously escaped prey.

"Shit, they found us!" the caped man, Levi hissed. Armin had figured out by now that this man was definitely Levi.

"Who?!" Eren squawked.

"Shut up, shitty brat," Levi snapped, and tossed Armin aside.

Eren and Mikasa both ran to her side, taking her in a protective embrace as the new ring of thugs dropped down into the street.

"So, the princess?" One sneered between the dark beard and mustache around his lips, sauntering forward.

"This is between you an' us," 'Shorty’s'  grunted.

Was he trying to protect the castle trio?

"Bullshit!" Scimitar swords were revealed, some still dripping with blood.

Staring at the thugs in horror, Armin whispered, "Eren? Mikasa? Take care of them."

"Yes Princess," they both replied instantly, and the thug trio they had been fighting seconds before stared in shock.

"You're gonna pay for what you did!" The rival leader snarled. And with that, they charged forward.

Armin stumbled back, squeezing her eyes shut in terror. She didn't want to see the deadly blurs that were her servants and attempted captors. She didn't want to watch them swerve and slide in their deadly dance with death.

She didn't want to watch the streets run red with blood.

Her eyes burst open at the sound of a glass-shattering howl to see a man drop dead at her feet. It was one of the new thugs. Her face splattered with blood, Mikasa pulled the sword back out of his spine without even blinking. Armin's stomach dropped.

She had grown up with this girl; they had chased butterflies through the courtyard together; they snuck out of the castle together; they slept in the same bed when she had nightmares. Was this blood-soaked warrior before her now, with emotionless black eyes and unmoved lips; was this really Mikasa?

Her speed; her stamina; everything seemed to match Levi. Every time Armin dared to blink, they were each engaged in another battle. Bodies were starting to pile up in the street.

She glanced down to see the thick body before her had his eyes still open wide. Armin pivoted on her heel and puked.

Wiping the stomach acid from her chin, Armin nearly fainted. She could only watch as Eren tackled a sweaty man to the ground. He took a fistful of the man's hair and slammed his face into the cobblestone over and over. Fragments of teeth littered the ground as the man's nose was crushed into the back of his face. Eren was like an untamed animal, holding nothing back.

Mikasa had made it quick, pouncing on her next victim in a flash; but Eren was taking his time.

He...was he enjoying it?

This boy liked to lay in the grass and find shapes in the clouds; he had cried when the egg he found remained unhatched (but Armin promised not to tell); he even stopped royal tasks to help others, whether they needed it or not.

What was happening to her friends?!

"You motherfuckers!" Eren suddenly snarled, and Armin followed his gaze to see Levi scaling the wall at the back of the alleyway.

They were just going to abandon they fight?!

There were only three men left at this point, but that don't make them any less threatening.

Armin couldn't fight; it was Mikasa and Eren vs fully grown adults.

Of what she had actually seen, they might be able to take them, but that didn't keep the fear from sinking into Armin's heart.

In one elegant stride, Mikasa ran her blade straight through one man's chest. Eren pounced on another, not hesitating to use his teeth like a mad dog. But where was the third?!

Levi was about to vault over the wall as he heard the princess let loose another shriek.

"Come on, Levi!" Isabel cried, holding out a hand to the hesitant dark haired male. But he only ignored her.

"Dammit," Levi growled, and dropped back to the ground

The all-to-familiar sensation of steel against skin tingles against Armin's neck. "Don't move, or something will happen to-"

The man's words were cut off with his head.

The decapitated body crumpled to the ground, and Armin was frozen in a silent scream as she watched the severed head roll over the stones. "You're welcome," Levi spat, and spun towards the wall to flee now that the princess was safe.

Stepping towards the wall with haste, a bout of lightheadedness made Levi stumble. Armin gasped with alarm, stepping to attention, while the red-headed girl dropped down the wall to rush to Levi’s side. Armin reached towards Levi, setting her hand on his shoulder.

“Uhm, are you o—“ Tentative and quiet, Armin’s voice was easily over powered by Levi’s.

“Don’t touch me,” Levi snarled, jerking away from Armin, who recoiled as if she had been slapped.

“Hey! Don’t you talk to the Princess like that!” Eren snarled and lunged at Levi, but Mikasa grabbed the back of his shirt and prevented him from making matters worse.

“She’s only trying to help,” The girl pointed out, as Levi put a hand to his forehead, hating how the world was spinning.

“Dude, you’re pale,” The light haired male commented, moving to the girl’s side.

“I’m fine,” Levi snapped, the same way he always did when he was not fine, only, after a few more steps, he started to crumple to the ground. The male friend was quick to respond, lunging to Levi and pulled one of the thinner but more muscled arm around his shoulder and the other slid around Levi’s waist, holding Levi more or less upright.

“Is he going to be okay?” Armin asked, a delicate hand over her mouth.

While Levi had tried to kidnap her, he had also saved her, which sort of negated the original impression enough to let her start to gain a new one.

“If we can get the bleeding to stop, and find water,” The light hair male scoffed as if his words were obvious.

“We be fighting them for a week now, and evading,” The girl started, but the young man quickly spoke up,

“We were in the process of evading, and getting something to eat. All Isabel had to do was stand there and not draw attention,” Giving her a pointed look, the girl looked away indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It not my fault I be pretty!” Isabel chimed with indigence. “You to be watching anyways, Farlan!” Isabel stated, turning the blame on him.

“Well, whoever’s fault it is, I think you should all come to the castle with me.” Armin started sweetly.

“Absolutely not.” A firm, deep male voice said.

Armin jumped with surprise and whirled around. “Ah, Uncle!”

“These are Class A thugs, Armin,” Erwin gestured to the trio, “I hired those Fanatic Desert men to hunt them down. It seems a small army of them were no match.” Erwin sighed with regret, then looked up with firm eyes. “However, thanks to your escapade of running off, every guard under my command is searching for you and they will be here momentarily,” Now those cool, hard eyes focused on the trio again, who looked ready to bolt. “They will arrest these heathens or die trying.” Erwin explained, without a shred of mercy in his voice.

Gasping, Armin put her hands over her mouth. If she had left them alone, it was quite possible that Levi and Farlan could have rescued Isabel themselves. Mikasa and Eren’s input may not have been necessary.

“Thank you, Princess. You did well, today,” Erwin patted Armin on the back, making her feel worse, at the same time that Knights stepped up to them from different directions.

His heart pounding in his chest, Farlan knew that while he and Isabel could probably scale the wall, and start moving, Levi was unconscious. If Farlan brought Levi with him, Levi would slow him down. If he stayed, dropped Levi, and fought, it was more than likely that a Knight would grab Levi and hold him hostage, where, again, Farlan would have a hard choice to make. Besides which, it was unlikely that Farlan and Isabel could defeat these Knights themselves, carrying sharpened Longswords.

If they didn’t do something, all of them would be taken to jail, or worse—

“I know what you would do to people like us!” Farlan exclaimed, a hint of fear and desperation tinged in his voice. “You would have us thrown into those barbaric games, wouldn’t you?” Farlan’s voice now held an accusatory note that was hard to miss.

“If I may,” Mikasa spoke up, stepping in front of the trio. “The one in the cape rescued Armin from your hired men.” Mikasa explained in her normal, monotone way, but Armin could see the different emotions flashing through her eyes.

At least the girl had compassion for others not Armin. That alone made Armin relax considerably, after the horror she had seen today. On some level, Mikasa grudgingly respected Levi, and seemed to have no problem with the other two. Although they had been presented to each other as enemies, they had actually been working towards the same goal, and it so happened that Isabel was part of Levi’s group. Armin realized that the group must have thought of Isabel as Eren and Mikasa thought of her.

No wonder they had been so quick, and brutal with the guards and bearded men.

“That may be a noble notion, I admit. However, it does not make their previous crimes dismissible,” Erwin said and held his hand out to Mikasa, wanting his Claymore back.

“What are your orders?” A Knight asked, the other’s waiting patiently.

“Capture them,” Erwin commanded, though his focus was on Mikasa, who was hesitating in handing the sword over.

“Uncle, no!” Armin finally spoke up, giving Mikasa the silent okay she was waiting for. Mikasa stepped in front of the trio, holding the handle of the sword in her fighting stance. Eren joined Mikasa’s side, holding his fists in the air.

Eyes widening with surprise, Farlan stared at the duo.

Were they protecting them?

Stepping behind Mikasa and Eren, but in front of the trio, Armin held her arms out, taking a stance with her friends. Erwin’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Oh? You’re willing to protect thugs, Armin?” Erwin’s eyes showed with disappointment. “How naïve, Princess. I fear this whole day is a mistake, letting you come out to the town…you may even be naïve enough to not be a wife…” Erwin’s dismayed words were cool, and calculated.

Just as Erwin was aiming for, Armin’s determination faltered, her eyes softening with doubt of what she was doing.

“These thugs have murdered all of these people,” Erwin gestured to the dead bodies littered on the ground. “They had wives, Armin. They had children. They had mother’s and fathers, brothers and sisters….hopes and dreams, they had goals…what is their family to do without them?” Erwin saw the resolve in Armin’s eyes crumbling fast, and continued to assault her with the reality of the situation. “You’re little friends took all of that away from these men and their families. Shortly, the family will receive news that their loved one was murdered, by thugs.” Erwin continued, seeing Armin drop her arms, and went in for the final blow.

“A lot of these children are left fatherless, and some of them, completely orphaned, just like you are, an orphan, or, you would be if they took me from you.” Erwin finished just as cooly, and cruelly as he had started, having manipulated Armin just as easy as he had her whole life.

Mikasa lowered her stance and set a hand on Armin’s trembling shoulder, rubbing it gently. Armin covered her face with her hands and cried, conflicted on what the right thing to do was. Here, Armin had only wanted to help, she hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, and now, so many people had lost their lives today. What was worse, was that it was partly her fault, and that many living people would be affected by this, and children would be fatherless or orphaned.

Guilt clenched her heart.

What did she do?!

To make matters worse, she was blindly protecting these people, who had done the brunt of the murdering…but even Mikasa and Eren had participated in the killing, all by her orders. Eren wrapped his arms around her, taking her in a gentle embrace, while MIkasa stroked her hair.

They both knew how delicate the Princess was, and the poor flower had been through hell today. Each also knew the Princess was blaming herself, and naturally, both knew they weren’t going to be able to talk her out of it, so they were there for her in the way they could be.

“Say goodbye to the thugs, Princess.” Erwin said with too cool of a voice.

Slowly, Armin peeked out from the safety of her hands, just in time to see Farlan, Isabel and a limp Levi being carted into a new carriage, with cuffs on their wrists.

Armin let out a heart-wrenching sob of guilt.


	2. Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin being kidnapped by a new bandit sets the trio free. 
> 
> With their newfound freedom, they rescue her and she gains more of an insight to why these people might not be as terrible as the wanted posters make them out to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit I struggled to write this chapter and while I feel much better about it now then I did for the whole morning, I still have my doubts on whether it clearly reflects what I wanted it to. Regardless, I hope people will like it and stay tuned for the third chapter because it will be a collaboration with AlvaDomer.

**Stories**

“Hiyaaaah!!!!” A battle cry descended on to the scene, loud and obnoxious. No one knew what had happened, other than one moment, everything was fine, and then the next, Armin was in the arm of a lithe Arab man with a broadsword. “Everyone freeze!” He screamed, placing the sharp edge of the sword against Armin’s tender neck. “I swear I won’t feel guilty about slitting her throat!” He pressed the blade closer, making Armin squeal for a second time upon capturing her. 

Both Eren, Mikasa and Erwin were ready to pounce on the man, but each knew the risk that would present, so grinding their heels on to the stone underneath, they gritted their teeth, bodies tense.

“Let my people go!” The man commanded, his wide, crazed eyes glinting with danger, as his arm was firmly around Armin’s waist. Erwin sucked in a breath, fighting to remain calm and not to decapitate people on his niece’s birthday.

“If we let the prisoners go, you’ll give her back?” Erwin wanted to clarify that the man would uphold his word.

“He won’t,” Isabel blurted, having had run-ins with this man before, who was crazed for her. Erwin’s light blue eyes hardened as he considered the information. Isabel had no reason to lie, against the man’s favor. Armin trembled in the man’s sweaty grasp, feeling her heart pump hard against her chest. Terrified, she wasn’t about to make a sound. Her blue eyes sought out Levi's dark eyes. 

“Guards, let the prisoners go,” Erwin commanded.

“What! The girl said the man is lying!” Eren screeched, arguing with the temporary King.

“Eren,” Mikasa scolded him, knowing it was best for them to keep quiet.

“But—“ Eren tried to protest further, but his words went ignored as Isabel and Farlan were released. They put distance between the guards, as soon as Levi was handed to them, and flung over Farlan’s shoulder safely.

“Now,” Erwin gestured to the scared Sunflower in the grimy man’s arms.

“Haha suckers!” The man exclaimed, and quickly made his escape with the Princess.

“Mikasa!” Armin cried, reaching her arm out to the other girl.

“After him,” Erwin told the guards.

“Wait,” Isabel shouted, holding her hands up in the air.

“Look, us know this guy, okay? Us get her back,” Isabel promised with haste.

“Capture them too,” Erwin gestured to the recently free trio, as Isabel’s offer only fell on dead ears.

“Come on, Isabel. It’s no use,” Farlan said, knowing they needed to make haste before they were caught again.

“No! She saved I! Me get her back!” Isabel sprinted after the kidnapper, jumping over the wall that he had.

“Damn it,” Farlan cursed under his breath and gave chase, just as Eren, Mikasa, and some guards did.

**. . .**

“I command you to let me go, by order of the Princess!” Armin yelled, as she wiggled in the man’s arm. The sword had been sheathed, making her a lot more bold as she pounded her hands on his muscled chest, that was a testimony that one could be thin, but full of hard abs.

“You’ll make me rich yet,” The man mused, as he darted through the forest trees, towards the camp he held with some buddies of his.

In the middle of a clearing up ahead, Armin could see a few men gathered around an extinguished campfire. Each of them looked just as unappealing as the one holding Armin now. _What are they going to do with me_? Armin wondered silently. All of a sudden, the two were tackled to the ground and before the gross man could shout, a sword was run through his nose. Armin scrambled up to her feet and turned in time to see Farlan pull the bloody sword back up. A fearful screech vibrated in the back of Armin’s throat, but before the noise could make waves within the forest, a hand clamped over her mouth, muffling the otherwise loud noise.

“Please don’t scream!” Isabel pleaded, not wanting Armin to give their position away.“We’ll take right care of ye,” She promised, keeping her voice light. Armin swallowed hard and struggled to calm down. There was blood soaking into the grass, just as it had stained the cobblestones in town. Feeling sick, Armin wrenched out of Isabel’s grasp and hunched over, spilling her breakfast on to the ground. “Oh, poor girl,” Isabel bunched Armin’s hair into a pony tail to keep it out of her face, for it would have been a shame to mar such pretty hair with stomach acid.

When Armin stood up straight, she was grateful for the handkerchief that Isabel provided her with. “Thank you,” She said as politely as she could.

“Uh-huh. Have this too,” Isabel presented from her pocket a handful of bright red berries. “I promise they good,” Isabel said, having ate them before.

“Oh, I’m not—“ Armin started to protest but then remembered that her breath might be foul, so with that fear in mind, the girl didn’t hesitate to eat the berries, that would hopefully make her breath smell decent.

“Hey! We got intruders!” A man exclaimed from the clearing.

“Time to go!” Isabel gave Armin a hard push towards Levi, who was leaning against a tree, his breath ragged.

While there was no doubt that Levi was exhausted, and possibly dizzy, he snapped into action and wrapped an arm around Armin’s hourglass figure, and started to dart through the trees, leaving his friends behind to deal with the on-coming thugs.

“Will they be okay on their own?” Armin asked, worried for Isabel’s well-being.

“Yes,” Levi didn’t hesitate to answer, for it was part of the plan they had hastily made on the way over.

If Levi _had_ to fight, he would, but, if he could successfully run away, and get the princess to a safe zone, that was just as fine too. Instead of fighting against Levi, Armin wrapped her arms around his neck, remembering how he had only been trying to get his friend back. That was an admirable notion to her, and with that in mind, she fiercely, and maybe naively, believed the streetrat to be a good guy. As he weaved through the forest, she noticed a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face. For all the world, this was not the kind of guy she was groomed to take attraction to, and yet, before she consciously realized what she was doing, Armin leaned her pudgy nose near his neck enough to inhale his all-natural scent. Unlike the other man that had reeked of onions, Levi smelled of a manly musk, that was some combination between woody and nutty, almost like a roasted chestnut.

“Oh…what soap do you use?” Armin asked, intrigued by the scent wafting off of Levi’s pores.

“What?” The question was so odd, especially considering their current situation that Levi almost decided against answering her. “Anything I can get my hands on,” Levi replied finally. It was the truth, though. The trio never had money for soap. A quick dip in the lake was generally their bath, and sometimes Isabel rubbed rose petals on her skin, but it didn’t do much for long.

“You steal soap?” Armin understood the unsaid comment within Levi’s words.

“Pft. Not all of us streetrats enjoy smelling like onions,” Levi scoffed, and jumped into the river, making water splash on to the ground.

“That’s cold!” Armin screeched, as the water assaulted her knees and feet.

“Sorry, _Princess_ ,” Levi droned sarcastically, as he trudged through the water, towards the round lake that lie ahead of them. With each step, the water became deeper.

“Wait, why are we—“ Armin started to ask, but Levi shushed her as a bush rustled on land.

“Quiet.” A moment later, both Isabel and Farlan came into view, and joined them in the water.

“We have to go. There’s more men than we thought,” Farlan informed Levi, who nodded and moved quicker with the friends in two, who too were covered in blood probably not their own.

“Wait!” Armin cried as Levi stepped fully into the lake, their feet not supported by anything now. “I can’t swim!” Armin’s grip on Levi tightened, as her body tensed with anxiety, and shook with cold.

“You better hold on tight,” Levi snickered, feeling how she pressed against him. Their clothes were weighing them down, but somehow, Levi managed to keep both their heads above water, which was actually an impressive feat, considering how drained of energy he was. “Take air in,” Levi commanded the nervous princess.

“What? Why—“ Any further word was muffled by the water, as the group went under. Armin panicked, as seconds ticked by. _How dare they bring me into the water!_ Armin thought angrily, as she tried struggling out of Levi’s grasp, and reached for the fading surface. When what little air she had taken in vanished, all Armin could do was take water in in a desperate attempt for air. The liquid only burned her lungs, making her coke.

_Fuck_ …Levi cursed silently when Armin went still in his arms, just as they finished traveling through a dark cave. He pushed on the floor, to give him a much needed boost to the surface of the water. Upon breaking through the ceiling of the water, Levi sucked in air greedily, as he swam to the edge of the water, where there was land. Farlan climbed on to land first, and grabbed Armin’s limp body, to pull her on to dry land by her armpits. Levi clawed his way on to the stone, and collapsed, panting. Isabel pulled herself up next, as Farlan laid Armin on to her back, against the grey floor.

“We have to wake her,” Isabel stated the obvious, and pushed her hands against Armin’s stomach. The princess jolted awake and coughed water out on to the ground, as she turned on to her side.

“Come on,” Levi said as he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her to her feet.

“Ow! H-hey—!” Armin stumbled after Levi as he pulled her through the dark cave.

“This is what’s going to happen,” Levi started matter-of-factly, “You’re our hostage, and ticket to freedom. If you can pull both off, you’ll live.” Levi told her, as Farlan and Isabel followed after them.

“Aren’t you my heroes, though?” Armin asked, recalling how Levi technically saved her twice now, possibly three time depending on the definition.

“Hereo’s—what!?” Levi sputtered, unable to give a proper response, while Farlan burst out laughing.

“We be though ye?” Isabel piped up, her red hair bouncing with each step.

“NO!” Both Levi and Farlan shouted, not wanting their reputation ruined. Taking the princess hostage would help keep other bandits off their tails, and would even earn them mad respect.

“You’re hurting me, like a real bandit,” Armin complained, shivering as she was pulled along.

“I _am_ a real bandit,” Levi scoffed indignantly, and stepped onto the green grass of the forest, outside the cave. Armin shut her eyes against the bright rays of the sun and lifted her hand as if to shield herself from it.

“You rescued me a couple times today. Bandits don’t do that for strangers,” Armin pointed out, and added,“You’re more like a prince in disguise.” Farlan burst out laughing again while Isabel chimed in to add insult to injury.

“I always knew my big brother was a hero at heart!”

“Shut up!” Levi snarled, but Farlan continued to jab at him,

“You are a pompous dick, dude.” Levi’s eye twitched at the snide comment.

“And you’re not?” Levi countered, but Farlan didn’t respond the way he had hoped he would.

“Yeah, why am I not a prince in disguise?” Farlan asked. Levi and Isabel both opened their mouth with a separate response but Armin was quicker,

“You’re too plain and selfish.” While Farlan’s jaw dropped, it was Levi and Isabel’s turn to laugh at the bold comment. “Prince’s are rugged, and unique looking,” Armin clarified and to further her point, she brushed her right hand along Levi’s prominent bicep. “Especially those born of a non-royal life, they are a breed of their own.”

“I’m no prince,” Levi protested as they came onto a clearing in the forest. “You are handsome, rugged, determined, strong, have a sense of justice and are loyal to those you care about and—“ Levi interrupted her right quick.

“I.am.not.a.fucking.prince.” Levi repeated with a dangerous note to his voice that made Isabel say, “Ooh.”

“Yeah, you’re not prince material,” Farlan agreed as he casually put his arms behind his head.

“I think he be,” Isabel said, despite Levi’s warning for them all to shut up.

“Where are we anyways?” Armin inquired as she looked around at the massive pine trees surrounding them.

“The forest,” Isabel replied.

“Which one?” Armin had to have clarification of this because there were two forests surrounding the castle and they were very different, especially with the stories behind them.

“The Obsidian Forest, naturally. We’re bandits after all.”Farlan informed her.

“You mean, the forest where Ruby met Obsidian?” Armin’s light blue eyes widened with disbelief.

“His name was actually Demir. He just looked like the obsidian he found.” Farlan explained. “You knew him?” Armin was more shocked.

“No, it’s a story that’s passed around these parts. Demir and Ruby. The guards, however, refer to him as Obsidian for varying reasons you can guess.”Farlan told her.

“It is a love story, isn’t it?” Armin had always heard the tale romanticized.

“I suppose,” Farlan shrugged.

“It is!” Isabel insisted.

“Demir was a bandit, as ruthless as they came, but when he met Ruby, he changed for her. Since then, it is said if you can walk in this forest and survive, you’ll forever be with the one you love,” Armin recanted the tale.

“I’m not Demir.” Levi said, knowing what she was getting at.

“I don’t know about that~!” Armin replied in a melodic voice.

Isabel giggled.

“Farlan, make a rope,” Levi instructed, and gestured to the liana’s nearby. Farlan nodded and stepped over to them, breaking them and twisting them.

“Are you going to tie me up? Because then it really seems like I am a hostage and—“

“You _are_ a hostage,” Levi reminded her.

“And a bargaining chip!” Isabel piped in, wanting to feel smart.

“Are you going to tie my wrists up to the tree like this?” Armin inquired as she held her arms above her head, just under a branch, while she stretched her body out for emphasis that she would probably dangle.

“…” Levi stared at her, silently wondering what was wrong with her to make her have a preference of how she was tied up.

“Ruby was tied up like this by Demir, remember?” Armin pointed out.

Levi’s eye twitched. “Are you daft?” Levi had to ask that of her, as Farlan tossed the vines to Levi.

“You heard the girl! Tie her up like Ruby,” Farlan grinned, enjoying the fact that Levi was annoyed.

“Fucking damn it,” Levi cursed while Isabel giggled.

“You could just let me go,” Armin suggested, but the short man scoffed at that.

“No, you’re our key to freedom,” He said while he threw the vine over the branch and then pulled her arms up. He tied the two ends of the vine around her wrists as tight as he could.

“This pretty,” Isabel changed the subject, charmed by the blonde’s lacy light blue dress that was bathed in sunlight.

“It was special made for my birthday, based off of a dress Ruby was drawn in.” Armin shined with pride as she explained the origin of the dress, while Levi rolled his eyes. Did she have to keep relating back to the deceased?

“Birthday?” Isabel blinked, and tilted her head to the side as she racked her brain for a definition.

“Yeah, I was born this day, fifteen years ago. I get presents, and my Uncle says there’s a surprise for me later. I’m hoping it’s not another barbaric death-match game.” Armin explained, not noticing how both males flinched at the prospect of a death-match for entertainment, especially because their type was usually the ones forced to fight.

“Ooh, when’s me birthday?” Isabel looked to Farlan with her bright green eyes, as if he would have the answer, but both males scoffed.

“Low life’s like us don’t celebrate birthdays,” Levi stated and hated the way Armin gave a sympathetic frown towards them.

“You don’t celebrate birthdays?” The thought was mind-boggling to the spoiled girl.

“We can’t afford bread, we sure as hell aren’t buying cake,” Levi gibed.

“Cake? I want cake~!” Isabel exclaimed eagerly.

“No,” Levi’s tone was harsh, and final, replacing Isabel’s joy with a pout.

“Aww.” She puffed out her bottom lip.

“You’re so mean!” Isabel stuck her tongue out at Levi, childishly. Armin giggled, seeing the two reacted like normal people.

“Hey, Kid, aren’t you…ya’ know, scared?” Farlan inquired.

“Well, in my fairytales, it says that—“ Armin started, and a chorus of different opinions echoed throughout the clearing.

“Ooh! She has another!” Isabel squealed happily, while Farlan hit his head against a trunk.

“God fucking DAMMIT!” Levi screamed, unable to handle another romantic story. Life didn't work like that.

Standing up, Armin gestured to Levi, who was clutching his throbbing head. “The rogue, like Le-vi is the one with a gentle heart while the groomed, perfect man is the man with ice in his heart.” Armin told the story, despite the protests. Levi just twitched his eye, hating the way that Armin said his name.

“It’s not—“ Levi paused in his rage as he heard the rustling of a bush. “Shit.” He muttered, and straightened out as he unsheathed his sword, he wrapped an arm around Armin's petite body and placed the sword against her neck.

“You’re not screaming?” Farlan rose an eyebrow at Armin, who seemed way too calm for the circumstances.

“Why would I? I’m protecting all of you, aren’t I?” Armin pointed out.

“You’re a fuckin hostage! Look like one,” Farlan snapped, knowing they had to play the part now.

“But—“ Armin tried, but Levi spoke over her.

“Do it,” His voice was firm, and strong, making her knees weak.

“You want me to look scared?” Armin clarified. Now was a time they couldn't afford to not be on the same page.

“For fucks sake, yes!” Levi exclaimed.

A man burst into the clearing, brandishing a shimmering falchion in his right hand. His broad, towering frame dwarfed Levi, topped with a short crop of blonde hair. Despite the intricate, heavy armor that was as golden as his eyes, prominent muscles were still all too noticeable beneath weighty chain mail.

“Unhand the Princess!" he ordered, voice powerful like a valiant knight, while holding the gilded blade in his grasp. Armin’s blue eyes widened as she realized her "hero" was Reiner.

“Prince Reiner!” Armin couldn’t contain the glee on her face, for this was just like a fairytale.

“Look scared!” Levi growled into her ear, knowing they had a reputation to uphold.

“Sorry,” Armin muttered quietly, and tried to change her expression to a more terrified one, but it was hard, for she actually wasn’t scared at all. Regardless, she knew she had to try to make a scene. “Help me!” Armin tried to sound scared, but it came out more of a casual statement. Levi couldn’t help but to roll his eyes and knew at this point, there was probably nothing that would actually scare the girl.

“Her return for our freedom,” Farlan offered, sword drawn, and body positioned to fight if they had to.

“I will not negotiate with criminals,” Reiner stated, much preferring to cut them all down then to reason with them. The princess’s life was at stake, after all.

“They don’t want to hurt me, Reiner. They just want freedom,” Armin spoke up in their defense .

“Tch.” Levi made a noise of disapproval at her comment. Reiner studied the group before sheathing his sword.

“Okay. If the Princess wants it,” Reiner let his lips pull into a charming smile that was such a change from his determined one a moment. Levi narrowed his eyes, not trusting Reiner for a moment.

“It’s alright, Le-vi. Let me go. Reiner’s an honest man.” Armin smiled reassuringly. Against his better judgment, Levi cut Armin’s wrists free of the vine and let her walk over to Reiner.

“Your princess is returned and unharmed. We’re taking our leave,” Levi said, and they each turned to leave but found themselves surrounded by guards, though Erwin, Eren and Mikasa were present as well.

“Wait, you said a deal had been made,” Armin said, not wanting her rescuers to be taken to the dungeons on false pretenses.

“I honored our deal. I can't say the same for them, though.” Reiner explained, and watched concern flood through Armin’s face as she turned to move towards them but was grabbed by Mikasa.

“Come, Armin,” She said, gaining Armin’s attention and started to pull her away.

Neither noticed the smirk grace Reiner’s face.

“No, Mikasat—!” Armin tried, but Eren helped to pull her away, as the trio were rounded up, and hauled away by guards.

There was nothing Armin could as the people who rescued her were taken under arrest.


	3. Lighting The DeathMatch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wakes up to find himself a prisoner in the King's barbaric death match games. 
> 
> If he has to fight for his freedom, he will.
> 
> Even at the cost of losing his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited chapter is finally here! I can't believe it has been months since I have updated this.
> 
> A large portion of the scenes actually belong to Alva because I am inept at writing fight scenes.

**FairyTale**

**Chapter 3: Lighting The Deathmatch**

Opening his dark eyes, he found the world around was blurred around him. There were dull browns, and greys. Just like…

_The underground_!

Sitting up with haste, a clanking noise met his ears as his heart thrummed nervously within his rib cage. Levi knew, even without proper sight, that he was in the underground, chained up with a cold metal around his neck. As soon as his dark eyes focused, his suspicions were confirmed, and he felt his stomach plummet. Yet, he wasn’t alone, in the round room of dirt walls. To steel poles, other unsightly people were chained up, just like him.

“He lives,” Came Farlan’s sarcastic, droning voice.

Setting a hand on his forehead, another clank sounded, indicating the wrists were tied to the pole as well. Even to his own hand, he felt cool, and clammy. How much blood had he lost? Come to think of it, when had he changed clothes and ended up here? Dressed in only tight, black shorts, that he never would have worn normally, certainly rose questions in his mind. Were they to be sold as sex slaves?

A quick glance around the room told him the other males were in the same garb. There were two women, one of which was Isabel, though both were dressed in worn gladiator, leather dresses, that were corset like on the top, while the skirt was thick straps that covered what it needed to.

Upon closer inspection, Isabel’s hair had been pulled out of her usual pigtails and fell around her shoulders, and upper back. It was amazing what a simple outfit change, and hairstyle change could do to someone, because Levi found his friend to be very attractive at the moment, excluding the nervous worry on her face, anyways.

“Good you’re up. I’ve been telling these bastards to back the fuck off of our little sis, but they’re quite grabby.” Farlan added, giving the brutes near Isabel a pointed look.

“I be biting them.” Isabel chimed in, and to prove her point, bit the hand of the brute reaching for her again. And just like that, Levi was reminded that was his adoptive little sister, and not some beautiful, powerful gladiator before him. It wasn’t just the way she spoke, it was how she reacted like an animal in most situations; An unrefined animal.

“She does look good, though, doesn’t she?” Farlan gestured with his head to Isabel. “Our sister is growing up,” At this point, he was purely teasing her. “Shut up!” Isabel snapped, knowing Farlan was just being smart. Levi only sighed, distracted by the pounding in his head.

It was obvious from the garb that they were going to be participating in the barbaric gladiator games, for their freedom. Only, Levi knew the only freedom at this point would be death, unless he could work an escape out. Glancing around, there was nothing in his reach that could be used to pick the lock. For the moment, they were stuck.

A door opened, and all eyes veered towards it. The guards, Levi assumed, were dressed in armor, and carried swords that he was willing to bet were sharp, walked in and escorted a single person out, by the chains, tugging on them as if the person was a dog.

If Levi had to guess, the man being dragged out was a common thief, with shady eyes and a lithe body. When the guards returned, they guided a much larger man out. It didn’t take a genius to know who would win, and within a few minutes, the large man was brought back, and chained back up to his pole, bearing new wounds that were left unattended.

For the next ten minutes people were carted in and out of the muggy room, though the numbers were dwindling quickly. When Isabel was carted out of the room, the duo looked at each other, knowing their little friend would be fine. Outside the waiting room, Armin gasped upon seeing the ginger-headed girl, who looked like a fierce warrior now, especially as she fought. There may have been something animalistic to her fighting moves, but they were concise deadly.

“Uncle, you’re not serious. I told you already that she—“ Armin started to protest the games but Erwin lifted a hand to stop her. “We have discussed this before, my little spark of Sunshine. Criminals are best put to use against each other, and she is no exception.” Erwin spoke calmly, something that only irritated the girl more. “If Le-vi is here, I’m going to be really upset.” Armin warned him, though his expression remained stoic, giving nothing away to whether the man was here or not. All Armin could do was hope that Isabel would win, because she rather liked the cheery girl.

_Clank clank shkkk_

Panting, Isabel pulled her sword out of the man’s heart, with tears strolling down her cheeks. The proud warrior, crying was a shocking sight to Armin. Did Isabel regret having to kill that man? It just went to show that these games were barbaric. Two guards escorted Isabel to the iron cage just outside the arena, where winners were kept until it was their second turn to fight.

New pairs of fighters were brought out. Half of each were murdered by the other. The bodies were dragged off the stage, to be dealt with later in a big bon fire.

“Uncle, I don’t even want to be here,” Armin sighed, her head in her hand as she leaned on the armrest. Erwin passed her an amused look.

“Oh?”

“I’d rather be sitting through Madame Rheinberger’s servant-management instructions,” she whined, looking anywhere but the arena.

“I think you’re going to change your mind once you see who’s fighting,” The king murmured with awaited interest.

Armin held back an unladylike roll of her eyes, only tucking a blond strand behind her ear and resettling in her seat. “Why should I concern myself with whether it is the grand champion or a child when someone will being losing their life?” She found herself hissing, taken aback by her own brashness. Mikasa remained staring straight forward stoically, but Eren was staring at her bug-eyed for If anyone _dared_ to use such tone in King Erwin’s face, their severed tongue would be added to his collection.

Instead of becoming angry, he _laughed_. The king simply laughed; a whole hearted, earnest sound that oozed charisma. “I almost find myself forgetting your sharp tongue until moments like this,” he chuckled, smiling warmly upon his niece. “I assure you, this will be a fight you will not regret.”

Blue eyes narrowed with both loathing and disgust, Armin leaned her head on her knuckles. As soon as the crown was upon her head, she would be sure to end these “games”.

With the loud grinding of enormous gears, two thick iron gates began rising at either side of the arena. Armin’s stomach dropped. _Is that…that’s the girl from—that’s Isabel_! she realized in horror almost instantly.

When Isabel first thought, Armin had been avoiding the arena as much as possible. The red-head had garnered some of her attention, but Armin hadn’t actually noticed her for who she was, in the garb she was wearing;

The guards apparently had no shame in attempting to sexualize the redhead’s appearance. Isabel at least had a leather breastplate, which was more than was usually given to those about to compete; but her trousers had been replaced by a short leather war skirt. The angular straps did little to cover her, but still Isabel strode forward, head held high despite the whistles and jeers and Armin could only guess how scared she might be.

Then again, if Isabel had fought earlier, and won, stepping out a second time wouldn’t be so scary. But…who would Isabel be fighting? Armin looked to Isabel’s side. _No_. A man of Average height, above-ordinary build of muscles coupled with those brown eyes and dusty brown hair: Farlan. He was now shirtless but had been allowed a pair of white linen pants to show any blood that may be splattered in the coming hour. Armin whirled toward the king without hesitation.

“Uncle!” The title came out as shrill and ugly as the fight about to occur. “What are you thinking?! If they must fight, don’t pin them against another! Do not make them do this!”

King Erwin raised his eyebrows. “Did you develop a affection for these heathens in the spans of several hours?” He asked, his smile sinking into a smirk.

“What does it matter?!” Armin fired back, teeth bared and chest heaving. “These are lives that should not be toyed with!” But her uncle was unsated and it showed before he even opened his mouth. Mikasa and Eren passed uneasy glances to each other.

_What should I do? What can I say_?! Armin thought frantically, if not for the sake of her kidnappers-turned-rescuers, then at least for the future victims of this practice!

“Let us have this discussion another time, Dear Princess. Please, enjoy your own celebration, if only for a moment.” His own quiet, polite formality was threat. The king was not a man of suggestions, no matter his phrasing; and Armin understood her order: _Sit still and stay quiet._ “Thank you,” He added after a moment when he knew she would remain quiet, as if she had a choice.

Then Erwin was raising his hand, bringing it down in a single swift motion accompanied by trumpets. With that one note, the fight had begun.

Isabel turned defiantly to the royal box, spitting in their general direction. “We ain’t fighting!” She hollered, throwing her knife to the ground. Armin’s heart was instantly rising with hope and crushed with despair in unison. While her uncle may be convinced, he usually only executed the dissenter instantly and called for a replacement.

As soon as Armin had this thought, a spear was launched. Isabel squealed and narrowly dodged it, staring at the iron tip buried deep in the sand—a warning less subtle than the one Armin had received. “We have to!” Farlan called, unsheathing the small steel blade each competitor was given.

Armin felt tears rushing to her eyes as she watched Isabel’s own eyes water. “I…I…” She obviously wanted to cry though she couldn’t. But then, that would be a lie. Armin wouldn’t have been able to, but they came from separate worlds. Isabel was from the Underground, where choices like this were made every day. That was how she was able to unsheathe her knife. Friendship meant nothing. There was only survival.

Isabel was hardly a few years older than Armin, if at all; so when she darted forward on lightning-quick feet, the arena practically exploded with roaring from the crowd. “I imagine those that bet on the young man are expecting to lose a lot of money,” Erwin mused aloud, as if that were some joke that Armin should find funny.

“Should I be laughing? That the fight has only just begun and people are concerned about their purse?” Armin spat, crossing her arms. “Those people you are forcing to fight are family like us,” she added, as if that would ever make her uncle hesitate.

“My sweet Armin,” He purred, making her scowl deeper, “You could not possibly understand the concept of ‘self-preservation’. That’s what Eren and Mikasa were for. But to these Underground animals, their own life is the only one that matters. Watch and you’ll see.” Armin opened her mouth to argue, but then sparks were flying.

Isabel tossed her arms up to block an oncoming blow, their knives meeting and sliding off one another. The bright orange sparks cast off in every direction as Isabel bounced back. Farlan pursued, gritting his teeth against her desperate strikes back. But his skill was much more evident. Isabel’s attempted slices were sloppy and predictable. Charging had hardly given her any advantage.

Farlan was easily parrying each blow, but there was an obvious downfall of his own. By the way he was gritting his teeth, how his eyes shined, brows downturned; how his muscles quivered with restraint, it was all glaringly obvious: he was holding back. Farlan was restraining himself from hurting her.

“Is that not all the evidence you need?!” Armin snarled, waving frantically at the attacks going absolutely nowhere.

“Give them time,” was all Erwin said in reply, tone both soothing and ominously knowing.

Farlan lashed out, aiming for Isabel’s head. But the green-eyed girl ducked. Dodging under his arm, she landed her first strike. The teeth of her blade danced across his abdomen, pitifully shallow but a hit nonetheless.

Isabel twisted out of his reach, so Farlan took the several seconds he had to dab at his own wound. He stared at the blood on his fingertips as if it came from a foreign creature.

“You…actually stabbed me,” he gasped, as if announcing it would be the deciding factor between whether it had happened or not.

“I’m so sorry,” She whispered, lower lip trembling. _Is she going to throw away the knife again_? Armin couldn’t help but wonder with a refreshed dash of hope.

Hope quickly died. Farlan was rushing her this time, eyes wild with a renewed need to survive. For once in her life, Armin was at a loss for words. These two really _did_ care about each other, didn’t they? They couldn’t possibly end this like Uncle said they would, right?

As blades glinting in the sunlight, the arena went silent at the blood-curdling shrieks that sent birds panicking into the sky. Isabel’s knife sunk into Farlan’s calf all the way to the hilt. She still gripped it firmly, despite how her head was dangling from her neck by the slightest remnants of flesh. Farlan had no doubt aimed to simply slit her throat. But Isabel had rushed him in unison, bringing his target too close; now he was left holding her almost decapitated body, staring down silently as he was continuously drenched in her blood.

From the iron enclosed cage, Levi stared with horror and disbelief at the scene in front of him. There was no doubt that he _knew_ the two hadn’t had a choice, and that he wouldn’t have hesitated to do the same if it were his life on the line, he still had a hard time swallowing the fact that Isabel was gone.

“Isa…” Levi gripped the bars enough to turn his knuckles white. It wasn’t often he let anyone into his heart, and _this_ was the exact reason why;

They had a habit of dying.

“No,” Armin whimpered from her perch, hating that the pretty, nice girl’s flame had been snuffed out. _We could have been friends_ …Armin thought with despair.

What had been the point of saving her earlier if this was to be her fate, dying by her own friends hand? Armin just couldn’t understand how any of this was okay, nor how it was worth watching. The blood pouring out of Isabel’s lifeless body as she was dragged off of the stage was gruesome. Armin put both of her hands over her mouth.

Mikasa rubbed Armin’s back, noticing the _I’m going to puke_ face on her friend. Somehow, Armin regained herself until she saw the raw emotions reflecting in Levi’s eyes as he too watched his friend be carelessly pulled off the arena and dropped over the other bodies, as if her life had meant nothing.

A thief could feel.

Closing her eyes, Armin couldn’t help the tears that slid down her face.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Eren brushed the tears away with his thumbs from behind her. “Keep fanning,” Erwin instructed Eren, who was over stepping his boundaries. Eren snapped up straight and continued to fan her. Mikasa took over Eren’s attempt. “Be strong,” Mikasa told her.

A pause was presented in the games as it always was after a winner took glory.

“Now, for the final round, only one will remain.” The announcer said, inevitably making Armin sick once more.

_Clank-clank-clank-clank-clank_. The steel gates on each end of the arena opened slowly. Levi strode out, too tense to be okay.

“Who is it this time, Uncle?” Armin asked absentmindedly, examining her nails for a distraction from the fact Isabel had been murdered by her own friend.

“We prepared a special surprise for you,” Came the ominous reply, and Armin bit her lower lip. She couldn’t handle any more surprises.

“Does that mean you’re ending this barbaric practice?” She asked coldly, but at the sight of her uncle’s cool smile and slow nod, Armin leaned in, squinting interested, but nervous blue eyes towards the arena.

The two approaching figures had both been nearly stripped, though Armin already figured that.

“Eren,” Armin mumbled breathlessly, and her servant brought the fan to her face loyally. Their shorts left absolutely nothing to the imagination. At ninety-seven degrees Fahrenheit, the bodies of both men were already slick as oil, coursing with sweat over rippling muscle.

They were not equal in build. Armin recognized the taller, brown-eyed man with dust-colored hair as Farlan who just murdered Isabel. The other was almost an entire foot shorter so cries of, “Is that a child?!” had left the arena long ago.

Now Armin gasp was a mix of glee and horror. That greasy black undercut; those cold, ruthless eyes; even the way he took the dulled blade made it obvious; it was Levi!

“Happy birthday, Princess.” Her fingers curled around the bottom on her seat anxiously. Levi was by far the most skilled fighter this arena had ever seen. The blood of hundreds was now on his hands, and he never hesitated to commit the final blow. Several times he had looked her pupil to pupil as he did it, and Armin’s heart fluttered while her stomach twisted with horror. At least this was the man’s last fight. Then he would finally be free. Hopefully those confounded feelings would leave with him.

As the weapon bearers retreated behind the closing gates, both men widened their stances, never breaking eye contact.

“I’m so sorry,” Farlan whispered, knees bent as he raised his knife hesitantly.

“Don’t be,” Levi murmured, and brought his fists to his face, the blade glinting in the high afternoon sun. “If we don’t do this, they’ll just kill us both. I won’t hate you.”

“You’re a damn good friend, you know that?”

“And you’re a sappy bastard.”

“I’ll see you in Hell.”

_Fwip_. Farlan’s blade hissed as it sailed through the air. Levi leapt back on bare, nimble feet, and the battle had begun.

They side-stepped one another cautiously, eyeing each other unblinkingly for the slightest, most subtle weakness. Their pace matched Armin’s heart, which beat in time with each of their steps. Farlan’s knife was pointed upward, while Levi’s faced downward, their free arms jutting out to block any oncoming blows.

Again, Farlan struck and the crowd roared. Levi ducked and caught the other man’s ankle as Farlan tried to kick him in the chin. Gritting his teeth, the brunette jumped, aiming to bring his heel down on the back of Levi’s head. “Shit!” Levi rolled out of the way, popping into a squat. His soles never touched the ground; his bulging quadriceps were trembling with the sheer force of restraint. Instead of charging forward, Levi bounced back, locked in a silent battle for dominance.

As she watched them panting, the beads of sweat dancing down their faces, Armin couldn’t help but think of stray cats as she watched them circle each other. The feral gleam in their eyes was captivating as they fought for what most took for granted.

The ground seemed to shake from the volume of the crowd as Levi lashed out but Farlan was able to block every blow; no, not just block, but _redirect_.

“Interesting,” Erwin murmured, and Armin continuously felt her blood run colder. A downward strike was knocked to the left. Farlan’s wrist met Levi’s and sent a jab flailing uselessly. A kick to the back of Farlan’s knees was anticipated and dodged fluidly.

“You _knew_ this would happen, didn’t you?” Armin hissed accusingly with anger, knowing that draws ended in execution for both parties. Erwin continued to smile pleasantly and never uttered a word.

But the fight wasn’t one sided. The taller man tried to take a swipe and Levi caught his outer elbow. Before he could break his arm, Farlan tried to knee Levi in the chest. They both retreated, gasping for breath.

“It…it looks like we know each other…too well,” Farlan huffed, laughing bitterly. But his friend didn’t return the humorless grin.

“This is inhumane!” Armin cried, overtaken by complete outrage.

“They are mere thieves—common criminals Princess, calm down,” Erwin assured her coolly, but she found herself suddenly fighting back tears. Levi and Farlan rushed at each other, eyes glinting like their steel weapons. They locked arms, fighting to be the first to throw the other to the ground. Farlan was larger and they both knew it, so with the desperation of a wild animal, Levi sunk his teeth into his friend’s forearm. Erwin clasped his hands at the sound of Farlan’s startled yelp.

“See, Armin? Beasts.”

Levi summersaulted into a crouch, toes curling into the grainy earth. Patches of sand clung to his sweltering skin, giving Levi an almost reptilian quality. He wiped the blood dribbling down his chin on the back of his hand. When he spit at Farlan’s feet, the sand eagerly lapped up the bloody saliva.

“Let’s end this,” Farlan hissed, and his calves clenched with the preparation to attack.

Levi was an ivory blur. He slashed left, tossed the knife behind his back, and when Farlan dodged, the blade was already there to greet him in Levi’s right hand. “Fuck!” the men snarled in unison, lurching backwards. Farlan held his arm in a desperate attempt to suppress any bleeding, while Levi stared at his knife in shock. It couldn’t have been more obvious that the taller man’s arm _should_ have had flesh dangling from the bone. But when he drew his hand away, his toned bicep remained unsevered.

“Just how dulled _are_ those blades, Uncle?” Armin cried, nearly rising out of her chair.

“Oh, enough,” Erwin replied sweetly, taking her wrist delicately. “Sit down. It is improper for a young lady to be making such a commotion.” Cheeks flushing with rage, Armin collapsed back into the chair. “Good girl,” he crooned, as if praising a dog. “This is all for you! Just relax and enjoy.”

“What the hell is going on?” Levi muttered, and Farlan could only shrug. They both stood mesmerized for a moment, running their fingers, and then their whole palms down the blades’ edges. But nothing happened. A white streak from the pressure would appear, but then quickly vanish in an instant. One stab wound. Whoever could deliver the one fatal stab wound would walk away with their freedom but how were they supposed to kill with these?

Farlan turned to the crowd, staring at the thrones. “This is bullshit!” he snarled, waving the knife in the air. Armin could only stare as Erwin laughed to himself, and she was absolutely overtaken by disgust. Her uncle seemed so _proud_ of himself.

“Look out!” Armin couldn’t keep herself from screaming, pointing at Levi. The shorter man tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction, charging forward full-force. His toes left deep imprints in the sand; a startling testimony to the brute strength restrained in the man’s calves.

“Oh shit!” Farlan leapt back, but Levi was done circling and waiting. He darted forward, and with each step Farlan took back, Levi met with ferocious speed. Both blades were shining streaks as they diverted each slash. “Sorry Levi,” his friend hissed, and Armin let out a terrified scream as he plunged the knife into Levi’s shoulder. The ridiculous amount of _force_ that was required for that to happen was impossible for the princess to imagine.

Levi didn’t even cry out. Clutching the bleeding wound, Levi looked up through one eye, the other scrunched tight in pain. Rivers of scarlet began running down his chest, glittering with the sweat that made him, despite the weapon in his shoulder, look absolutely immortal. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, the only words to leave Levi’s mouth were, “I could say the same.”

He sprung at Farlan like a mad dog.

“Ha!” Farlan laughed as he knocked Levi’s knife from his hand. When he dodged, Levi darted past him. Both of them were now disarmed. “Give it up, Levi. Maybe they’ll let you fight in the next match,” The taller man offered but they both knew that was impossible. “You can’t win this!” Farlan cried, ready for when Levi charged again. But when Farlan swerved the blow coming straight at him, Levi tossed the knife behind his back, switching hands to greet the dodge. His back to his friend, Levi only closed his eyes when the blade sailing through the air jarred to a halt. By the way his arm jerked, he knew instantly that he had landed the winning blow.

Levi let go of the handle and heard Farlan’s body drop to the ground. He didn’t bother to look at the knife jutting from his best friend’s temple.

Freedom would belong to Levi, but at what cost?


	4. Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin makes a choice, reputation be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am goin this story alone now, so action scenes and comedy may be suddenly lacking. 
> 
> Honestly, watching The Book of Life, I was inspired to write a chapter for Fairytale.
> 
> The chapter was going to be longer but I thought it better to keep it short.

**Fairytale**

**Chapter 4: Choice**

“Kill him.” The order echoed in Armin’s mind, like a haunting melody. 

“ _No_!”

Mercenary archers rose their long bows, and trained the readied arrows towards Levi’s glowing form.

“Uncle—“ Armin turned on her heels to Erwin, who stared upon the doomed prisoner with decisive eyes she knew well. There would be no arguing with Erwin.

Levi was going to die.

Armin felt her heart quicken, as her gut twisted with emotions she couldn’t understand. If she didn’t do something, he would die. The same man that had risked his life for his friends. The guy that just witnessed both of his friends deaths and kept a solemn face.

No one deserved to be promised life at such a horrific cost, just to be killed after the conditions were met.

“Princess!” Mikasa and Eren gasped with surprise as Armin bolted towards the arena. Mikasa was first to recover from her shock and charged after Armin. Eren dropped the leaf fan and followed his friends.

They pushed past the citizens, stepping on them if need be to descend the seats. Armin was met with the brick wall, but it didn’t deter her from wanting to protect Levi, in whatever way she could. She scaled the wall, placing her hands, and the tips of her high heels in whatever hole, or crevice she could find, and pulled herself up in record time as adrenaline pumped through her lithe body.

Arrows were cutting paths through the air, all trained on the handsome bandit. Armin’s heart was a flutter with panic, but miraculously, the short man was flexibly dodging the brunt of the oncoming arrows. It was as if he had been in this situation many times before, with arrows raining down on him.

Blood splattered onto the ground beneath as arrows nicked and slashed at his skin, but none of the arrowheads were plunging into his body. The crowd was loud with bloodlust.

“Halt!” Armin exclaimed as she pushed herself off of the wall, and headed straight for Levi, despite the raining arrows. Erwin held his hand up, to second her order.

The flood of arrows dropped to the ground.

“By order of the princess _I command you_ to open those gates and let this prisoner go free, as was promised to him, for are we not honorable people?” Armin told the guards near the double edged gates, for they could be ones freedom, or ones demise.

With her arms held out in resemblance to a cross, Armin stood firm as silence reigned upon the land. No one knew how to respond to this situation. The crowd wanted bloodlust, but at what cost? Tarnishing their good name? The guards themselves had mixed feelings, for they weren’t sure whose command to follow;

King’s order to murder, or Princess’s demand for life?

“Armin, I command you to sit back down, for this is not your place, and you are making me a fool.” Erwin gestured calmly to the seat beside him, even though his eyes burned with a quiet rage.

“No, Uncle! I have been quiet for far too long! You promised this man freedom, should he win the tournament, and he has, at the cost of his dear friends so let him go.” Armin fired back, standing tall and proud for what she believed in.

Just as Erwin opened his mouth to put the defiant girl in her place, he shut it just as quick upon hearing Armin’s squeal, as she was pulled against the bandit’s sweaty body.

“Let me go or I’ll slit her throat.” Levi warned, holding an arrowhead against Armin’s neck.

Gasps were the only noise that erupted from the suddenly tense arena attendees. Their prized princess was in the clutches of whom they deemed a violent, dangerous criminal.

The princess saw the situation differently, though. This man, holding her hostage, may have made mistakes in his past, but no matter what he had done, he had atoned for them by having to lose his only friends in such a barbaric way. He was a clean slate now, even if he didn’t see it that way, she did;

A guy fighting for his earned freedom his deceased friends would have wanted him to have. His heaving, trembling body was covered in sweat and blood, not all his own.

This was an act of desperation, and determination to live, and yet, there was something more to it. One glance to Levi’s dark eyes told her that some part of him _wanted_ to slit her throat. It was a terrifying thought at base value, but Erwin had taken those Levi cared for most away from him. It would only be right at this point to return the favor, but he was hesitating.

There was good in him. That made the immediate danger hot. Like, really hot.

“You’re so brave,” Armin murmured, fanning herself with her hand.

“You do realize you’re a hostage?” Levi grumbled with exasperation, as the captive girl swooned against his arm.

“Oh yes, but you won’t kill me.” Armin mused boldly, confounding Levi.

“Wha—“ He began, but Armin interrupted him.

“For the record, I don’t think you deserved any of this.” Armin whispered, right before she began to scream frantically. “Eek! Help! Uncle, please—ahh! That h-hurts!”

“H-Huh? I’m not—“ Stunned at Armin’s bipolar nature, Levi couldn’t form a complete sentence. Why was she screaming? She was the one that barged onto the scene. Was she putting on a show? All Levi knew was that he _wasn’t_ hurting her!

“Armin!” Eren yelled, tense, sitting ontop the acme of the flat brick, wall, next to Mikasa. He tried to lunge to his princess, but Mikasa grabbed his wrist.

“She’s not in danger.” Mikasa stated, reading Armin’s subtle body language, or lack there of.

The young princess was not trembling, nor was she tense. Her movements were exaggerated, to fake terror. People in the crowd didn’t know Armin like Mikasa did, so they didn’t see how ridiculous the act was, which, was working in Levi’s favor.

He had everyone’s attention because the princess feigned distress.

“Uncle! Do whatever he wants! Just get me safe.” Armin begged, as best she could.

“Y…yeah!” Levi stuttered, trying to regain his composure.

“What are your demands?” Erwin asked, straining for patience. He gripped the arms of the chair hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

“Freedom.” Levi stated, than pointed to Isabel’s corpse. “Isabel too.”

“Granted.” Erwin grudgingly said, not having another choice, for he could see that Levi was a cornered, desperate animal that had killed before and would again if he felt like it would grant him the freedom he sought. “Open the gate.”

“Move.” Levi told Armin, than guided her to the pile of deceased bodies. “Kneel.” He knelt with the girl, keeping the steel of the arrowhead against her neck, while his other arm hoisted Isabel’s body over his shoulder.

Standing up proved to be a tad difficult, since he was exhausted, but he managed it because he had to. Isabel was worth a proper burial. Levi glanced to Farlan. A glimmer of regret flicked through them, but was gone just as quick as it had come.

“Go.” Levi told the fearless hostage, then rose his voice for everyone else to hear. “If anyone moves, she will die.”

Eren flinched as Mikasa’s hand tightened around his wrist. The young woman was practically seething with rage, and yet she didn’t move, for as much as she didn’t trust the trigger happy guards, she trusted Armin.

Armin always made good decisions;

_“It’s my birthday!” A shrill voice sounded from the hallway, coupled with hurried footsteps._

_Flinching, the young girl standing alongside others about her age knew the comment sounding from outside the room would haunt her._

_“That it is,” Followed a deep, but calm male voice._

_“What did you buy me?” The feminine voice inquired curiously, an undeniable hint of eagerness tinged on her notes._

_“Remember how you wanted a playmate? I found a few for you to pick from.” Responded the male voice._

This _was what she was brought here for? To be a playmate to assumedly a girl? Never having been one to make friends before, the girl bit her bottom lip nervously. Just what kind of girl, or more importantly, whom was she supposed to play with? If chosen over other children, that is._

_Two large double doors opened up, bringing forth a cold wave that made her shudder._

_From what she could see, three figures emerged into the large room, their heels clicking against the unforgiving stone, currently chilling her pale feet. Her dark eyes were immediately drawn to the only female in the group, who had short hair that shined bright like the glowing sun outside._

_The girl had bangs covering her forehead, that sort of arched to her nose, while the rest of the hair framed her round cheeks, just barely touching her shoulders. Her eyes were a bright blue, framed by long, dark eyelashes, and the dash of pink on her lips added to her innocent image._

_Dressed in a light blue dress, with a small, short sleeved dress jacket to cover her shoulders, the dress poofed out at the bottom, while the top half had intricate designs in gold of two wings stitched in, the girl was the picturesque version of innocence._

_What grabbed the girl’s attention the most, however, was the smile that, the assumedly princess wore on her youthful face, as she spoke to a much older, and taller man;_

_Blonde, with similar light blue eyes to the girl, it was easy to believe they were related, possibly father and daughter. He was, in all senses of the word, handsome. A strong jaw, broad shoulders, a gleam of calculating intelligence in his eyes, and the strength in his muscles made him one of the most desirable bachelors in the Kingdom, or, so, the girl had heard._

_Seeing him close-up, she could see why, but her dark brown eyes were drawn to the person standing behind the Girl of Sunshine. He was taller than the innocent girl, but quite a bit shorter than the assumedly King, in all senses of the word. This boy had the starting buds of muscles on his pale body, something evident from how naked he was, save for a long green loincloth that wrapped around his waist and covered his back, as it did his front. He had beautiful green eyes, and earthy, short brown hair._

_So plain, so average, and yet…she could see he was more then he seemed. There was a fire in his eyes that was admirable._

_“Which one do you want?” Hearing the stronger male speak, the girl focused her dark eyes on them again as a whole, and not an individual._

_“Ah, that girl is pretty but intimidating…” The Sunshine Girl murmured, pointing timidly at her._

_“Oh?” The male mused in contemplation, while the younger male, holding a large fan, was waving it back and forth, to cool the timid girl. “Maybe one of the other’s?” The royal male suggested, watching the girl flick her eyes between the available girls._

_It wasn’t only just her present, no, there were two other’s, one blonde, and one with brunet hair, while she herself had short black hair, that, much like Sunshine Girl’s, brushed around her shoulders. The blonde girl on the left had green eyes and was a little older then she, while the brunet was around the same age, with blue eyes. All three girls were pale, and slim, just barely clothed in rags. Their hands were chained behind their backs as if they were prisoners._

_“Ahm,” The sunshine girl muttered indecisively as she glanced back to her friend for help, and saw him looking at the oriental girl, studying her features._

_“You. I want you.” Pointing decisively, the sunny girl looked up to the older man. “Her. The one with raven hair.” She clarified._

_“I thought you said she was intimidating,” The man said with uncertainty._

_“I changed my mind.” She replied, and smiled to the copper skinned boy who glanced away shyly._

_“Alright.” The guy mused and stepped towards the slave trader, to make a deal with him._

_Unfortunate as it was, the other two girls were dismissed, following the retreating slave owner who had quite a bit of new cash on hand now. What would happen to the other girls were unclear._

_“What’s your name?” The sunshine girl asked as she stepped way too close for the oriental girl’s comfort._

_“Mikasa,” She replied quietly, her voice barely above a whisper._

_“That’s pretty! My name is Armin, I’m the princess of Maria’s Kingdom,” The bright girl exclaimed, and without warning, wrapped her arms around the other kid. “Welcome home,” She greeted warmly._

_“Ah,” Surprised by the hug, Mikasa didn’t even notice when the older male unlocked her bound wrists, freeing them from the chains._

_“Home it may be for her, and playmate she is, but for her to live here, she will serve you,” He stated, catching both of the girl’s attention._

_“Uncle, that’s not fair,” Armin whined, letting Mikasa go to puff her cheeks out at him._

_“Do you understand, Mikasa? You are to serve under Armin.” Armin’s uncle commanded._

_Incredibly, the oriental girl nodded with grim understanding._

That same princess whom had chosen her was now choosing a bandit. It was nerve wracking for Mikasa. If someone’s finger slipped, Armin could die. There was also the matter of Armin’s reputation. What would people be saying about the girl who tried to protect a bad man, only to be held hostage and proven a fool?

Luckily, Mikasa could punch a few people out, no questions asked. Fellow nobles, however, Mikasa couldn’t strike.

This little ordeal of Armin’s might prevent her from marrying a proper prince, so there was that concern too. Had Armin even thought about any of this? Probably not, but Mikasa knew she’d have an answer when pressed for one.

All she could do right now though, was watch Armin be guided through the open gates.

“Let’s go.” Mikasa told Eren, as she jumped off of the wall.

“Okay.” Eren followed diligently, knowing Mikasa had a plan.


	5. Caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi kidnaps Armin who finds a special mare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter.

**Fairytale**

**Chapter 5: Caring**

The agora was crowdless due to the brunt of people visiting the arena, which was a relief for Levi needed a straight way towards the forest, or he would collapse. There was only one thing that kept Levi walking;

Determination for freedom.

At this point, Armin wasn’t so much a hostage as she was someone for Levi to lean against. The last couple days had been exhausting for Levi, running and dodging those Arab thugs, struggling against the guards and literally fighting for his life—

“Levi!” Armin gasped as the man crumpled to his knees, the arrow dropping harmlessly to the ground. Levi’s ragged breaths said enough. “Hang on. I’ll help you.” Armin said, since it was the least she could do for the man whom had saved her life. If he didn’t receive help, he could die, or be captured again, and or executed on the spot for kidnapping the princess not once, but twice in one day.

There was no Eren, nor Mikasa to help her. Anything she did now, she would have to do herself.

_Mikasa…what would you do if this was us_? Armin thought as she looked around the scarcely populated market. There was a vendor selling cantaloupe, a juicy fruit. The owner was absent.

“I’ll be right back,” Armin told Levi, as she sat her hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. He didn’t reply as he shifted Isabel’s body onto his lap, needing weight off of his shoulder. Armin hurried to the stand and grabbed the first cantaloupe she saw.

“Hey! You can’t just take that!” A pedestrian yelled, but Armin ignored the comment and returned to Levi, who was clutching his forehead. Armin knelt down and smashed the cantaloupe onto the cobblestone street, knowing they didn’t have much time. They needed to keep moving, because Erwin would have soldiers out hunting for them sooner as opposed to later.

“Here.” Armin offered, holding the fruit to Levi. Levi cracked an eye open to see what she held;

A cantaloupe.

Levi took the fruit and bit into the wet, pink surface. Armin smiled and stood up, glad he was quenching his thirst. She ran to the first horse she saw, since Levi’s strength seemed to be failing.

“Wow, you’re a pretty mare, aren’t you?” Armin praised the black, Arabian horse, brought in by one of the vendor owners, selling foreign fruit. “Mikasa would just love you.” Armin added, as the horse snorted and turned her head skywards. “May I please ride you? That man over there saved my life, and to be honest, I really think he’s handsome, don’t you?” Armin spoke gently to the stubborn equine.

Amazingly, the horse glanced Levi’s way. A grunt left her throat.

“Are you agreeing to help me?” A smile tugged at Armin’s lips, taking the mare’s noise as a yes. Armin pulled the reigns free of the pole, and guided the magnificent horse towards Levi.

“Thief!” The same man hollered, advancing towards the duo.

“Can you climb onto the horse?” Armin asked Levi, who had ate the pink, spongy part of the fruit, and discarded the rest onto the ground.

“Don’t insult me.” Levi said as he stood up, pulling Isabel with him. In the five minutes Armin’s thieving had taken, enough energy had been regained to Levi to allow him to hoist himself, and Isabel onto the horse.

“Get back here!” That same man yelled. Armin vaguely realized he might be a fellow vendor person, but she had no time to explain that she was a princess—the princess, and that Erwin would pay for both things she took.

Levi held his hand out to her, that was covered in blood. Armin felt her heart skip a beat as she viewed her savior, bruised and dirty, yet sitting on an elegant horse, the hue of night. There was no sight as hot, but as depressing as the one she saw, for that blood on his body wasn’t just his own—his best friend’s blood was stained on his clothes.

None of this even would have happened, had those games not existed in the first place.

_As soon as I am Queen, those are the first to go_. Armin thought childishly, as she climbed onto the horse, with his help.

“Do you even know how to—“ Levi began, but stopped short as he remembered the fact that Armin was a princess.

Riding horses was something nobility did for fun.

_Fuck_. Levi thought, hoping beyond hope that the horse wouldn’t need to be used to her full potential, because Armin certainly wouldn’t know how to achieve that. All Armin could do was make the horse trot a little, and look good while doing it, which was vastly different than needing the horse to gallop.

“Of course I do. I’m a princess.” Armin replied indignantly, as she nudged the horse to trot. Levi suppressed a sigh, figuring his fears were confirmed. He adjusted Isabel against him, keeping her close. If he could have brought Farlan with him, he would have.

As they entered a residential area, Levi spotted a shovel against a barn he could use to dig a grave for Isabel. “Wait.” Levi said, and pressed Isabel against Armin, before jumping off the horse. Armin pulled on the reigns to bring the horse to a full stop and looked to see what he was doing.

“You aren’t going to just take that, are you? That’s residential property.” Armin said, with a frown.

“Says the one on a horse,” Levi reminded her as he grabbed the shovel. Armin twisted in her seat to better hold Isabel’s cool body. If Armin didn’t know better, Isabel seemed as if she was just sleeping, pale skin aside. It was odd to her that she was holding a dead body upright, so she reminded herself this was still Isabel.

Levi hoisted himself back onto the horse, with the shovel in hand, and took Isabel back, to hold her close. If they were being followed, Levi didn’t seem to notice. Armin wasn’t quite sure where Levi wanted to go, but she figured they would return to the forest from earlier, where Levi had seemed comfortable. Levi said nothing in regards to where he wanted to go. Armin looked back at him, noticing he seemed to be thinking about something. As much as she wanted to ask him if he was okay, or what he was thinking about, she remained silent until they arrived into the forest.

“I’m really sorry about your friends…” Armin said tentatively, for she was unsure of how he would respond.

“What would you know about loss? You’re a princess.” Levi scoffed bitterly. Armin frowned, thinking to how her parents were murdered, just because they wanted to abandon their post, and their child, to explore the world. Armin pulled on the reigns, making the horse stop alongside a grove of sunflowers.

“My…parents were murdered. People talked…and an official story was created…but, Uncle Erwin told me the truth…that they were going to abandon me. I saw them too, they were packing their bags…with no mention to bring me along. That’s the last time I saw them alive…they were going to leave me….they wanted to see the world…and I suppose that’s not a bad endeavor but…why not bring me with them? Uncle Erwin could have reigned as King.” Armin confessed quietly, with a tinge of pain to her voice.

It wasn’t a memory she wanted resurfacing on her birthday, but the day was already so weird that one more oddity wouldn’t matter.

Levi said nothing. Whether it was because he could, or couldn’t relate, Armin wasn’t sure, but it probably was due to the fact that men didn’t tend to talk about feelings. Men would talk about politics, war, and status. They weren’t around for a women’s comfort. At least, not as far as Armin knew. What he did do, though, was slide off the horse, pulling Isabel with him. He laid her against the flowers, then grabbed the shovel. Armin lifted her leg over the horse, to turn and watch Levi.

She fiddled with her hands as he dug into the soft, brown Earth. The bleeding had stopped, but the exhaustion still riddled his every movement, yet he kept digging. Armin turned her gaze skywards, to see the rust sky. Night would fall soon, and back at the palace, she would need to meet her future prince, and despite everything that had happened today, she would have to smile.

Smiling. A princess never frowned. They were to be agreeable, polite, and most importantly, quiet. There were many people whom would say Armin was none of those things. Others would make excuses for her, that, since she was parentless, the bad behavior was rebellion.

What would they call this, though? Armin keeping the company of a dangerous thug digging a grave for the girl he lost?

“May I ask who she was to you?” Armin finally asked, to break the silence. Levi said nothing, because he didn’t need to. As he placed Isabel in the ground, Armin saw everything she needed to, to have an answer;

Love lost.

“I’m sorry.” Armin said, unable to say anything else as she slid off the horse and walked towards him. She set her hand on his shoulder. “I really liked her. She was bright and fun.” Armin stated, knowing the world had lost an interesting character today.

“Step back.” Levi told her, and began to shovel dirt onto Isabel’s body to cover her. Armin took a step back.

He certainly wasn’t one to share his feelings, that much Armin gathered. She fiddled with her hands as she watched him work. They had both been through a lot today, and the events didn’t seem to be ending for either of them.

“My Uncle is probably pretty mad that you got away. I think it would be best for you to lay low for awhile.” Armin suggested, knowing how Erwin could be.

“Take the horse and return to your castle.” Levi said, knowing that Armin was right.

They needed to separate, and now.

“O-okay. Uhm…thank you for everything, though…and I am sorry…” Armin said and turned to leave, but figured she could do something for Levi after all. She took a step to him. Levi had his gaze to the grave, so when her arms wrapped around his neck, he jumped.

“What the hell—“ Levi exclaimed, startled by the physical contact.

“It’s a hug,” Armin explained as she stepped away from the tense man.

“Don’t—don’t touch me.” Levi warned her, bothered by the touch.

“Hm…goodbye.” Armin waved, and turned on her heel to the mare. She climbed onto the Arabian horse and nudged it to move back to the castle.

Whether this would be the last time she saw him or not, she was unsure. Hopefully he wouldn’t end up in those barbaric games again, though.

“Come on, Eren. Let’s make sure she gets home fine.” Mikasa said as she stood up, hidden by the tree.

“Shouldn’t we bring him back with us? King Erwin—“

“No. We lost him. Let’s go.” Mikasa grabbed Eren’s wrist and pulled him with her, following after Armin.

“He’s going to be mad.” Eren sighed, having had orders to not only bring the princess home, but to bring back the dangerous criminal that had escaped.

It wasn’t overly obvious to Eren, but Mikasa could see that Armin felt for the rugged man.

Whatever the exact feeling was didn’t matter.

The only thing that mattered was that Armin cared for the bandit.

That was enough for Mikasa to leave Levi alone.


	6. Fairytale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, dreams do come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally intended this fanfic to be over ten chapters long and I intended to make it the epitome of romance and fairytales and cliches and whatever other fun thing I thought of, right along with other themes and yet...I just need to end the fanfic, as I need to end the others. So, I hope no one will be upset with what I chose, and how I chose to go about it.

**FairyTale**

**Chapter 6: Fairytale**

The palace had never been as loud as it was now, with the excited chatter from nobles and dukes alike, to the clanging of fine china as cups were set down on saucers. People had come from far and wide to see whom the princess would choose as a prince, come after dinner. This was an important day, where two kingdoms would become united.

All Armin had to do was make a choice.

A proper choice.

For now, an extravagant dinner was being served in Armin’s honor;

Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob, cranberry sauce and apple pie.

These were feast worthy meals, and dishes that Armin enjoyed, possibly too much.

A toast was made.

Armin, her light blue dress dry and smoothed out, ate quietly to hear everything said around her.

A woman of her position should be silent, and said nothing she did—except when directly spoken to.

It was no annoyance for Armin, for she wanted to hear what was said, because she could learn a lot—even things that she might not be supposed to hear.

Secrets she could use to destroy people if necessary, so quiet she remained, not because she was told to be that way, but because she found it to her benefit.

The rich families spoke amongst each other, and to the current King of the land, Erwin.

It was a big day for Erwin too, though, because if Armin chose to remain here, he would have to step down from the throne.

Armin was the rightful heir to the throne here, but should she chose to live with her prince, Erwin would remain King. In truth, Armin wanted Erwin to remain king because he knew what he was doing and Armin felt as if she had more to learn to be an effective leader.

Still, who was there to choose from? Reiner, the dashing prince who gave to the poor and slayed dragons, or prince Jean who…was, well, a prince.

Actually, the more Armin thought of the two, the more she veered towards Reiner, without a question, but her mind kept flicking back to Levi. Now that was a man.

To her, at least.

Sure, she may not know him well, but…did she know any of these men well?

Armin had heard both Reiner and Jean’s many deeds and yet they, so far, didn’t make her melt the way Levi made her turn to a puddle of warmness.

At the ceremony, she would see if either of them could make her swoon.

If they couldn’t… Well, Armin didn’t want to think about it, and yet, that’s all she did think about;

The what if’s.

If she married Reiner, her life might be like a fairy tale, which was what she always wanted and if she married Jean, she might have a happy life and bare him sons that would do better than they ever did.

As appealing as Reiner’s path was to her, she found herself wondering what Levi’s path may bring her.

Mystery, danger, risk…

A giddy feeling flooded through her, just from thinking about Levi.

“Now, let us retreat to the ballroom. I’m sure Armin is eager to formally meet the both of you.” Erwin announced as he stood up, and began leading everyone to the ballroom. Armin stood up and followed, remaining much to herself as she tried to work out what she wanted for herself in life.

In the ballroom, Armin stood next to Erwin, and a crowd looked on, just as eager as Erwin to hear what path in life Armin would choose. That was a lot of pressure to be put on the young blonde, but she wasn’t scared anymore, for she had had her whole life to think about this day.

Jean came up to her first, to formally introduce himself. “Jean Kirstein, at your service, Highness. If you choose me to be your husband, I shall open every door to my castle for you. There shall be nothing you pine for.”

This was just the starting of the choosing, and already Armin was sure Jean just wasn’t the one for her. Some people seemed to think so, but they knew nothing about romance, apparently.

Reiner was next, and he was dashing. He knelt on one knee and took her hand to kiss it, much like Jean had done but…with quite a flare. “Reiner Braun, to your rescue, Princess Armin.” Nice as he was, Armin just didn’t feel it—what she had felt with Levi. Still, she smiled politely and stepped back.

Now the men, one by one, explained how they believed their kingdom would prosper with her at their side, and how she and her people might benefit from marriage as well. Their deeds were announced as well, and admirable as they were, Armin couldn’t get Levi out of her head.

Only now did she start to fret, as she realized whom she wanted to marry.

“And who, Armin, would you choose as your husband?” Erwin asked, while everyone stared at her with anticipation.

Armin was not a stupid female.

She knew that a princess could only marry a prince.

Armin also knew Erwin would never allow it, especially when in the presence of other people who had a knack for judging.

The only way Armin could speak to Erwin alone now was in her chambers. Armin sucked in a dramatic breath, placed her hand to her forehead, and let herself fall in a dramatic mock-faint.

Mikasa had seen Armin’s at war eyes, and had been studying her unusual body posture all night long, so it was no surprise that she was already hurrying towards her princess, to catch her as she fell. Mikasa caught Armin, while Eren rushed forwards and began to fan her. Mikasa, more than Eren knew Armin’s fall had been a ploy to go to the bedroom.

Words between them were just not necessary.

“She fainted,” Mikasa announced, and lifted the young girl up.

“The pressure to choose—she needs a moment.” Mikasa said, over the startled gasps among the crowd.

“I will be in in a minute,” Erwin said, and began to address the worried onlookers with a speech.

Mikasa nodded to Eren to follow her. Both servants left the ballroom and climbed up the stone stairs to Armin’s bedroom. Eren was in charge of keeping people away and opening the doors to let Mikasa through quickly. Mikasa laid Armin on the bed and stood attentive.

Instantly, Armin sat up and looked to her friend.

“I’m in love with Levi.” Armin blurted, for she didn’t have much time to be alone with the servants.

Mikasa slapped her.

“You’re always so difficult,” Mikasa said and looked to Eren, “Get your shoes on. We’re paying the criminal a swift visit.”

Armin set a hand to her stinging cheek, quite surprised Mikasa had hit her. Then again, Mikasa did deal with her difficultness on a daily basis. It was surprising she hadn’t been slapped before. “You’re leaving?” Armin asked, incredulous.

“Yes. Keep the King entertained until we return.” Mikasa said, knowing exactly what Armin wanted.

“O-okay.” Armin stuttered through a smile, sure she had an idea as to why her friends were leaving into the night so abruptly. Mikasa was good with reading her mind.

They left, leaving Armin unattended.

And, as Armin had hoped, Erwin came into the bedroom alone, after a swift knock.

“Are you feeling better?” Erwin asked as he shut the door behind him.

“N-not exactly. Mikasa said that there is a root I can eat that will calm my nerves. I’m just so nervous—this one choice effects my whole life—and others.” Armin explained, mustering up an anxious posture and too quick words to appear distressed.

“The guests are waiting, though.” Erwin reminded her.

“Can’t you keep them entertained? Just a few moments? Mikasa will be soon here.” Armin promised, and hugged a pillow close to her body, just as she did when she was little and nervous.

“Very well, then.” Erwin said and returned to the ballroom. He knew Armin was stalling for time—but why, and for what reason he didn’t know yet. He just knew that Armin had a plan, and since she wasn’t stupid, he would trust her for now.

It wasn’t like entertaining people didn’t come naturally to him. No, entertaining nobles would be easy.

After an hour, Armin was guided back to the ballroom, where she couldn’t avoid making a choice, root or no root. Armin swallowed and glanced to the French doors leading outside. The reality of the situation was that Eren and Mikasa might come back with bad news.

Armin hoped that wouldn’t be the case but—the clock was ticking and she was to make a choice, now.

“I choose…” Armin started, and stalled purposefully, as long as she could, and then began again. “I as the princess of the kingdom, Armin Arlert choose—“ Just then, the double doors opened.

Everyone turned to see whom was making an late entrance.

“LEVI.” Armin exclaimed giddily, upon seeing the short, dark haired man step into the room.

Gasps echoed throughout the room, just before the judgemental comments began.

“Isn’t that the thief who escaped?”

“Where are the guards?”

Not deterred by the comments, Levi walked straight up to Armin.

The nobles, skittish of a man branded a criminal made a path for him.

“What is your business here?” Erwin demanded to know, as Eren and Mikasa stepped next to Armin.

Levi’s gaze met Mikasa’s before turning to Erwin.

“It just so happens that I am a prince from a far-away land and I will be taking that blonde brat—“ Levi coughed in an attempt to cover his poorly thought of language—“Armin as my wife.” His words sounded rehearsed to Armin but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that he was here now, that, Mikasa had set this up for her.

However Mikasa convinced Levi to not only be here, but to take her hand in marriage, Armin didn’t care to know yet.

“Oh yes!” Armin shouted gleefully and wrapped her arms around Levi’s neck.

“I accept!” Armin announced loud enough for everyone to hear. Erwin knew that questioning Levi would just have to wait until the crowd was gone, for if Levi was a prince, questioning him now would look bad, so he forced a smile.

“If that is what you want, Armin, but, why don’t you both join me in the parlor later?” Erwin suggested.

“That sounds fine, Uncle. I knew though he was a prince—that’s why I saved him.” Armin said, not caring about the noises of disprovable the crowd was making.

This would work, Armin was sure of it.

Levi would be hers.

He was the one that made her swoon.

**Author's Note:**

> AlvaDomer wrote the brunt of fight scene and will participate in future scenes.  
> Holly and Calle also contributed to the first fight scene in chapter one.


End file.
